THE  EAST 


JOHN  M.  moo; 


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THE   GREAT   BUDDHA^    KAMAKURA,   JAPAN. 


ETCHINGS  OF 
THE  EAST 


JOHN  M.  MOORE,  D.D.,  Ph.D.  (Yale) 


Nashville,  Tknn.  ;  Dallas,  Tex. 

Publishing  House  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  South 

Smith  &  Lamar,  Agents 

1909 


Copyright,  1909, 

BY 

Smith  &  Lamar. 


A  WORD  M  STARTING. 

As  a  member  of  the  editorial  staff  of  the  Christian 
Advocate  (Nashville)  the  author  of  this  volume,  ac- 
companied by  his  wife,  made  a  journey  around  the 
world  in  1908.  The  chief  object  of  the  journey  was 
to  visit  the  mission  fields  in  Japan,  Korea,  China,  and 
India  for  the  purpose  of  making  some  study  of  the 
people,  the  methods  of  missionary  work,  and  the  re- 
sults of  missionary  labor.  Official  permission  was 
granted  for  this  long  absence  from  the  editorial  office 
with  the  understanding  that  each  week  a  letter  relat- 
ing to  what  was  seen  should  appear  in  the  Christian 
Advocate.  The  letters  were  written  in  hotels,  mis- 
sionaries' homes,  and,  for  the  most  part,  on  ocean 
steamers.  Seldom  was  a  letter  finished  within  many 
miles  of  the  place  where  it  was  begun.  Careful,  pains- 
taking work  was  impossible.  The  letters  appeared  in 
the  Christian  Advocate  just  as  they  came  first  from  the 
pen.  When  the  last  letter  of  the  series  was  published, 
the  statement  was  made  that  the  articles  would  not  be 
issued  in  book  form.  The  requests  for  the  publica- 
tion became  so  numerous  that  finally  the  writer  con- 
sented to  send  forth  to  the  reading  public  the  letters 
just  as  they  appeared  in  the  Christian  Advocate. 
They  are  published  with  the  earnest  hope  that  some 
new  interest  in  the  non-Christian  peoples  may  be 
awakened  and  that  some  new  missionary  effort  will  be 
put  forth  as  a  result  of  the  reading  of  these  letters. 

This  great  journey  would  not  have  been  possible 

(Hi) 


1927496 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

except  for  the  kindness  of  the  Book  Committee  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  in  granting- 
the  leave  of  absence  and  of  the  Rev.  G.  B.  Wintop, 
D.D.,  and  the  Rev.  S.  M.  Godbey,  who  performed  ex- 
tra editorial  service  in  the  absence  of  their  colleague. 
Without  the  help  and  unfailing  kindness  of  the  mis- 
sionaries in  all  the  countries  the  information  found 
in  the  letters  could  not  have  been  secured  and  the 
comfort  of  the  travelers  would  have  been  almost  im- 
possible. To  all  these  the  thanks  of  the  author  are 
hereby  expressed.  •  J.  M.  M. 

Nashville,  Tenn.,  March  25,  1909. 
(iv) 


CONTENTS. 

Chapter.  P*ge. 

I.  Over  La^nd  and  Sea i 

II.  The  First  Touch  of  Japan 13 

III.  NiKKO    THE    Magnificent 25 

IV.  Tokyo  the  Imperial  and  Other  Cities 32 

V.  The  Educational  System  of  Japan 44 

VI.  Mission   Work  in   Japan 51 

VII.  Taking  Leave  of  Japan 65 

VIII.  Shanghai,  a  Modern  City 72 

IX.  A  Visit  to  the  Missions 87 

X.  The  Chinese  in  Life  and  Customs 112 

XI.  Commerce  and  Christianity  in  China 133 

XII.  Touching  Britain  in  the  Orient 152 

XIII.  The  First  Touch  of  India 171 

XIV.  Benares  and  Lucknow 187 

XV.  The  Capitals  of  the  Moguls 205 

XVI.  Jeypore,  Ahmedabad,  and  Bombay 225 

XVII.  Coming  Up  into  Egypt 248 

XVIII.  Going  Up  to  Jerusalem 259 

XIX.  The  World's  Holy  City 273 

XX.  Bethlehem,  Hebron,  Jericho,  and  Jordan 293 

XXI.  From  Jerusalem  to  the  Sea  of  Galilee 308 

XXII.  Damascus,  Baalbek,  Beirut,  Alexandria 331 

(v) 


LIST  OF   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

The  Great  Buddha,  Kamakura,  Japan Frontispiece 

Opposite. 

Japanese  Girl  in  Street  Costume 17 

Playing  the  Koto 22 

Young  Women  in  a  Social  Game 22 

In  the  Temple  Grounds,  Nikko 30 

East  Honganji  Temple,  Kioto 40 

Japanese  Schoolgirl  in  Tennis  Costume 49 

Japanese   Cooking   School 57 

Stroll  by  the  Lake 68 

The   Bund,    Nagasaki 71 

The  Jinrikishas  and  Sikh  Policeman,  Shanghai 75 

A  Chinaman  Setting  Type 84 

Type  Foundry,  Publishing  House 84 

The  Tea   Restaurant 93 

Bound    Feet 93 

Sampans  in  a  Canal 106 

Monument  to  a  Widow 130 

Small  Temple  with  Typical  Roof 130 

Malay  House  in  Singapore 158 

Street  Scene  in  Singapore 158 

Before  the  Shwe  Dagon  Pagoda,  Rangoon 164 

Elephants  Piling  Timber  at  Rangoon 168 

Hindu  Temples — Bathing  in  Ganges  at  Benares 190 

Taj  Mahal,  Agra 211 

(vii) 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

Opposite. 

Mohammedans    at    Worship    (Women    Behind    Cur- 
tain),   Delhi 219 

The  Personal  Servant 231 

Morning    Tooth-Washing 231 

The    Sweeper 231 

Climbing  the  Great  Pyramid 253 

Plowing  in  Palestine 262 

Mount  of  Olives 278 

The  Holy  Sepulcher 284 

Three  Jews  in  Jerusalem 290 

Going  to  Market  in  Palestine 301 

Herod's  Temple  Colonnade,  Samaria 316 

Tabor,  the  Mount  of  Transfiguration 316 

Mary's  Well,  Nazareth , 320 

The  Shepherd  and  His  Flock 325 

The  Bedouins  in  Their  Tent 333 

(viii) 


ETCHINGS  OF  THE  EAST 

CHAPTER  I. 
Over  Land  and  Sea. 

FROM  Nashville  to  San  Francisco,  a  distance  by  the 
railroad  of  two  thousand  seven  hundred  and  fif- 
teen miles,  in  four  days  and  four  nights,  lacking  two 
hours  and  losing  five  hours  in  making  two  train  con- 
nections, is  the  record  for  this  Editor  in  January, 
1908.  They  did  not  do  it  so  when  the  "forty-niners" 
rushed  to  the  western  coast  when  the  gold  fever 
burned  in  many  veins.  A  half  century  has  brought 
wonders  to  the  world  through  these  United  States, 
and  what  another  fifty  years  will  produce  in  this 
country  no  man  is  now  able  to  prophesy.  Such  mar- 
velous inventions  have  been  given  to  the  world  that 
now  the  question  is,  not  "Will  we  ever  fly?"  but, 
"When  will  we  fly?"  We  have  done  almost  every- 
thing else  imaginable;  and  flying  is  not  half  so  won- 
derful as  seeing  through  wooden  walls  by  means  of 
the  Rontgen  Ray,  or  sending  messages  to  the  wide 
world  without  even  a  wire  to  carry  them.  This  is 
the  day  of  scientific  and  mechanical  wonders,  and 
this  great  country  of  ours  is  the  place  where  many 
of  them  are  brought  to  perfection. 

The  States  of  Tennessee,  Kentucky,  Missouri,  and 
Kansas  are  more  or  less  known  to  me;  but  Colorado, 
New  Alexico,  Arizona,  and  California  were  entirely 

1 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

new  and  fumishe-d  sights  which  entertained  me  very 
much.  I  read  of  the  deserts  of  Africa  when  I  was  a  lad, 
and  I  have  seen  something  of  a  desolate  land  in  some 
parts  of  Mexico;  but  the  desert  of  Arizona  was  even 
more  desolate  than  I  had  thought  was  possible  in  any 
part  of  this  country.  A  full  day's  travel  in  tliat 
dreary  waste  made  me  ask  myself:  "Will  man  ever 
make  this  place  blossom  like  the  rose?"  In  many 
places  once  considered  desolate  man  has  given  soil 
and  moisture  and  received  fruits  in  return,  but  will 
he  ever  redeem  tlie  American  desert?  The  swamps 
have  been  taken  from  many  sections;  the  overflowing 
and  destructive  streams  have  been  confined  to  their 
channels;  the  hills,  with  their  steep  inclines,  have 
been  covered  with  vineyards,  gardens,  and  luxuriant 
fields ;  the  arid  lands  have  been  irrigated ;  and  we 
may  well  expect  that  the  day  will  come  when  this 
earth  of  man's  shall  become  in  every  spot  a  feeder  of 
its  masterful  inhabitant.  This  planet,  with  man  as 
its  master,  will,  when  man  comes  fully  to  himself,  have 
no  waste  spots  or  waste  forces.  The  true  man  is  a 
producer;  and  when  he  puts  himself  into  the  world, 
the  harvests  are  certain. 

The  gold  mines  of  California  are  not  all  in  the 
mountains,  although  only  there  the  yellow  metal  may 
be  found.  Gold-mining  is  the  work  of  adventurers 
and  speculators.  Neither  the  men  who  go  into  the 
mines  nor  those  who  handle  the  certificates  for  the 
ore  can  make  a  State  that  has  the  right  to  be  called 
a  commonwealth.  California's  highest  treasures  are 
in  her  plains,  her  golden  sunshine,  and  her  health- 
giving  atmosphere.  All  the  southern  half  of  this 
wonderful  land   is  one  vast  garden,  hemmed  in  by 

2 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

the  mountains  and  the  sea.  Fruits  and  flowers,  fill- 
ing the  vast  plains  of  this  richly  endowed  State,  have 
made  the  world  almost  forget  that  California  ever 
produced  gold.  I  shall  never  forget  the  day's  travel 
in  the  Joaquin  Valley.  The  fields,  with  their  first 
signs  of  the  coming  spring,  the  industrious  landmen, 
with  their  great  plows  and  harrows  drawn  by  four, 
six,  and  eight  horses,  the  distant  Sierra  Nevadas, 
with  their  snow-covered  peaks,  filled  the  day  with 
continual  delight.  The  approach  to  the  great  city  of 
the  Coast  increased  the  interest  of  this  great  moving 
picture. 

San  Francisco  will  some  day  be  a  great  city.  Its 
population  with  that  of  its  three  neighbors,  Oakland, 
Berkeley,  and  Alameda,  now  reaches  500,000  to  700,- 
000  people.  But  this  is  really  a  heterogeneous  mass. 
The  spirit  of  the  community  is  not  healthful  to  the 
highest  interests  of  society.  The  enterprise  is  very 
largely  financial,  and  the  thought  of  getting  rich  quick 
occupies  the  mind  of  a  majority  of  those  who  come 
here.  The  growth  is  too  much  after  the  manner  of 
the  eucalyptus.  But  the  importance  of  the  port,  the 
beauty  of  the  surrounding  country,  the  richness  of 
the  fruits  will  make  San  Francisco  a  center  for  in- 
creasing multitudes.  The  Church  is  the  most  neg- 
lected institution  in  California  of  all  those  tliat  make 
a  great  people.  Greed  and  godliness  are  not  compan- 
ionable, and  greed  came  first  and  has  never  retired. 
Many  of  the  leading  citizens  left  their  religion  east 
of  the  Rockies,  or  else  they  have  grown  up  here  from 
the  stock  of  the  early  days,  when  religion  was  vir- 
tually unknown.  But  the  people  have  no  ear  for  bar- 
ren creeds  or  doctrines  of  any  sect  or  sects.     They 

3 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

are  open  to  the  appeals  of  Christ's  Christianity,  but 
they  will  not  try  to  pronounce  the  shibboleths  of  any 
denominationalism.  Sectarianism  or  sectionalism  has 
no  attraction  for  a  people  of  cosmopolitan  sentiment. 
Only  the  pure  gospel,  presented  in  an  intelligent  way 
and  in  harmony  with  the  day  of  information  and  en- 
lightenment, can  reach  such  a  people  as  this.  The 
Church  of  the  great  West  will  be  free  of  all  sentiments 
that  make  and  maintain  sects. 

Dr.  C.  F.  Reid  has  been  doing  something  worth 
while  in  the  five  years  that  he  has  been  out  here. 
He  has  inaugurated  and  now  maintains  two  missions 
for  the  Japanese  and  two  for  the  Koreans.  I  visited 
the  Japanese  missions — one  in  Oakland  and  one  in 
Alameda.  The  one  in  Oakland  is  cared  for  in  a  hired 
house.  It  has  a  reading  room,  where  many  young 
Japanese  men  come.  It  has  a  Students'  Club,  com- 
posed of  the  young  men  in  the  high  school  and  col- 
lege. Chapel  exercises  are  held  during  the  week. 
The  one  in  Alameda  has  a  pastor,  a  kindergarten 
with  thirty  children,  and  a  night  school  with  twenty- 
four  pupils.  The  Church  has  about  twenty  members. 
An  elegant  home  was  recently  bought  for  $8,500. 
The  house  needs  about  $1,000  expended  in  improve- 
ments to  give  it  full  equipment  for  the  needs  of  the 
mission.  There  are  about  eight  hundred  Japanese  in 
the  vicinity  of  this  mission ;  and  with  the  kindergar- 
ten and  the  night  school,  there  will  be  furnished  an 
easy  access  to  this  needy  people.  Dr.  Reid  has  a  Ko- 
rean mission  in  San  Francisco,  and  one  in  Sacra- 
mento with  about  fifty  members.  His  work  as  our 
first  missionary  to  Korea  gave  him  a  great  love  for 
these  immigrants  from  the  little  kingdom. 

4 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

California  offers  the  Church  a  fine  opportunity  for 
finding  an  open  door  into  China  and  Japan.  There 
are  now  10,000  Japanese  in  CaHfornia,  and  the  num- 
ber is  increasing.  The  number  of  the  Chinese  is 
now  decreasing.  The  work  now  done  for  these  peo- 
ple at  our  doors  is  being  supported  by  the  Woman's 
Home  Mission  Society.  The  Church  will  be  wise 
in  any  efforts  that  it  may  make  for  the '  Christiani- 
zation  of  the  Japanese,  Chinese,  and'  Koreans  who 
now  abide  in  our  country. 

Balboa  made  a  great  discovery  when  he  brought  to 
the  world's  notice  the  Pacific  Ocean.  However,  he 
gave  the  great  sea  its  name  from  a  mountain  peak 
before  he  had  tried  its  waters,  else  the  pleasing  name 
might  never  have  been  employed.  The  Pacific  has  its 
ups  and  downs,  with  which  those  who  sail  even  in  its 
largest  ships  are  compelled  to  sympathize,  and  which 
they  occasionally  imitate.  Of  such  experiences  one  is 
apt  to  grow  sick.  Those  who  passed  through  the 
Golden  Gate  on  Thursday,  January  30,  1908,  for  des- 
tinations beyond  the  sea  were  soon  wondering  if  the 
passageway  was  only  a  golden  gate  to  those  who  en- 
tered from  the  sea,  and  not  for  those  who  sought  the 
highway  of  the  deep.  Anyway,  many  passengers  were 
in  their  cabins  without  a  desire  for  food  when  the 
gong  sounded  for  the  evening- meal.  The  uncertainty 
in  certain  localities  continued-  for  two  days  before  the 
fair  weather  brought  quiet  to  the  sea  and  the  suffer- 
er:^.'  The  Psalmist  seemed  to  have  known  of  the  life 
on  the  ocean  when  he  wrote:  "They  that  go  down  to 
the  sea  in  ships,  that  do  business  in  great  waters: 
these  see  the  works  of  the  Lord,  and  his  wonders  in 
the  deep.    For  he  commandeth,  and  raiseth  the  stormy 

5 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

wind,  which  lifteth  up  the  waves  thereof.  They  mount 
up  to  the  heaven,  they  go  down  again  to  the  depths: 
their  soul  is  melted  because  of  trouble.  They  reel  to 
and  fro,  and  stagger  like  a  drunken  man,  and  are  at 
their  wit's  end.  Then  they  cry  unto  the  Lord  in  their 
trouble,  and  he  bringeth  them  out  of  their  distresses. 
He  maketh  the  storm  a  calm,  so  that  the  waves  there- 
of are  still." 

The  steamships  take  different  courses  across  the  Pa- 
cific Ocean  from  the  United  States  to  Japan.  The 
distance  from  San  Francisco  to  Yokohama  by  one 
route  is  4,525  miles.  Our  steamer  (the  Mongolia,  of, 
the  Pacific  Mail  Line)  took  a  southern  route,  sailing 
by  the  Sandwich  Islands.  The  distance  from  San 
Francisco  to  Honolulu  is  2,089  miles,  and  from  Hon- 
olulu to  Yokohama,  3,950  miles;  the  total  distance 
per  this  route  is  6,039  miles.  The  latitude  of  San 
Francisco  is  practically  thirty-eight  degrees;  that  of 
Yokohama  is  about  thirty-five;  while  that  of  Hono- 
lulu is  about  twenty-one,  which  gives  it  a  place  below 
the  Tropic  of  Cancer.  The  two  days  previous  to  our 
reaching  the  Hawaiian  Islands  we  were  able  to  sit 
on  the  deck  of  the  steamer  without  wraps  and  often 
in  light  clothing.  This  was  much  more  pleasant  than 
the  severe  gales  in  the  more  northern  latitudes.  The 
real  delight  of  a  sea  voyage  is  in  the  sea  breeze ;  but 
when  it  is  cold  and  the  passengers  are  closed  in  their 
cabins,  the  ship  becomes  a  prison  and  the  voyagers 
are  afflicted  rather  than  benefited.  The  motion  of  the 
ship  on  a  quiet  sea  is  not  unpleasant,  but  the  rolling 
and  the  plunging  have  no  fascination  except  for  the 
daring  and  undisturbed  sailor. 

The  steamer  Mongolia  is  a  large,  smooth-sailing 
6 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

but  slow  ship.  The  speed  from  San  Francisco  to 
Honolulu  was  fifteen  knots  an  hour,  or  eight  or  nine 
knots  less  than  that  of  the  fast  vessels  on  the  Atlantic 
Ocean.  The  ship  has  a  tonnage  of  13,600,  although 
the  company  advertises  it  at  27,000  tons.  It  has  a  dis- 
placement of  27,000  tons.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  our 
American  steamship  companies  can  maintain  a  fine 
service  on  the  Pacific  Ocean,  as  travel  to  the  Orient 
will  be  greatly  increased  in  the  next  ten  years.  The 
Mongolia  might  increase  its  attractiveness  by  sustain- 
ing a  small  orchestra  for  the  entertainment  of  its  pas- 
sengers, as  do  the  Atlantic  steamers,  or  by  offering 
such  diversions  as  would  break  the  monotony  of  a 
long  day. 

Many  of  the  passengers  felt  very  keenly  the  dis- 
grace of  the  gambling  which  was  conducted  by  mem- 
bers of  the  ship's  crew.  There  is  always  card-playing 
in  the  smoking  room  of  an  ocean  steamer,  and  betting 
on  everything  on  which  men  can  bet;  but  when  it 
comes  to  running  a  roulette  wheel  every  day  and 
"chuck-a-luck"  stands  by  the  dozen  continually,  many 
passengers  feel  that  such  things  should  not  be  al- 
lowed. It  is  true  that  those  who  own  these  wheels 
and  dice  games  are  Chinese,  but  they  are  in  the  em- 
ploy of  an  American  ship  company.  Many  well- 
dressed  men  and  women  patronized  these  games,  and 
mostly  to  their  sorrow.  The  sailors  spent  every  odd 
moment  and  odd  coin  at  these  tables  of  chance.  The 
company  defends  its  course  by  saying  that  the  Chi- 
nese laborers  must  have  their  gambling  diversions,  or 
else  they  will  not  serve,  and  it  wants  the  Chinese  labor- 
ers because  of  their  capabilities  and  their  satisfaction 
with  moderate  wages.    Be  that  as  it  may,  a  steamship 

7 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

company  that  not  only  tolerates  but  even  encourages 
such  procedure  will  some  day  suffer. 

Twenty-two  hours  in  Honolulu  were  not  sufficient 
to  see  all  the  interesting  sights  of  that  beautiful  little 
city.  Our  steamer  arrived  at  noon  on  Wednesday, 
and  left  at  ten  o'clock  Thursday  morning.  The  rest 
from  the  sea  voyage  was  very  acceptable.  It  was 
good  to  have  a  dinner  on  land  at  the  elegant  Young 
Hotel.  After  a  few  minutes'  walk  from  the  hotel, 
we  found  ourselves  at  the  gate  of  the  old  lolani  Pal- 
ace, now  the  executive  and  legislative  building  of  the 
Territory.  I  was  glad  that  I  could  visit  the  throne 
room,  now  the  hall  for  the  territorial  Legislature. 
Its  regal  splendor  has  departed,  but  the  new  order 
of  government  has  in  no  way  decreased  the  impor- 
tance of  the  large  chamber.  On  the  walls  are  hung 
the  portraits  of  the  kings  and  queens  of  the  islands 
for  the  last  hundred  years,  with  the  portraits  of  Na- 
poleon in.  and  King  Philip,  the  friends  of  the  reign- 
ing family  in  their  times.  The  Senate  chamber  is  a 
small  room  of  the  old  palace,  as  is  the  Governor's 
office.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  street  is  the  large 
modern  building  for  the  territorial  courts.  The  for- 
mer Queen  Liliuokalani  lives  in  an  elegant  home  near 
the  palace  at  the  expense  of  the  government. 

Politics  on  the  islands  cannot  be  different  from  pol- 
itics on  the  mainland.  The  small  spoils  of  office  are 
earnestly  sought  in  all  countries.  The  natives  usually 
vote  with  the  party  that  has  given  them  the  most 
booty.  Here  in  Hawaii  they  want  work,  and  the  poli-  - 
ticians  try  to  hold  themselves  in  power  by  supplying 
their  desires.  At  present  the  natives  are  mostly  Re- 
publicans.   They  hold  the  balance  of  power,  for  there 

8 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

are  less  than  ten  thousand  white  people  on  the  islands. 
The  natives  have  about  thirty  thousand.  The  number 
of  natives  is  decreasing  at  a  good  rate.  The  Japanese, 
with  their  70,000  people,  furnish  half  the  population. 
The  Chinese  number  about  twenty  to  twenty-five  thou- 
sand, and  the  Koreans  about  five  thousand.  But  the 
white  man  is  in  control,  as  he  always  is  wherever  he 
consents  to  live.  He  usually  settles  all  race  problems 
according  to  his  own  whims.  The  large  valleys,  with 
their  700,000  tillable  acres,  are  owned  for  the  most 
part  by  the  white  men,  as  are  the  large  industries, 
whether  agricultural,  manufactural,  or  commercial. 

Captain  Cook  was  the  first  Anglo-Saxon  to  see  this 
chain  of  islands.  He  saw  them  first  January  10,  1778, 
and  called  them  Sandwich  Islands  in  honor  of  his 
patron,  the  Earl  of  Sandwich.  He  met  his  death  on  a 
second  visit  at  the  hands  of  the  natives  whom  it  was 
claimed  that  he  betrayed.  About  1790  a  chief  of  the 
island  of  Hawaii,  named  Kamehameha,  conceived  the 
idea  of  making  an  island  empire.  He  beat  in  battle 
the  kings  of  Maui,  Molokai,  and  Oahu.  In  routing 
the  forces  of  Oahu  he  drove  them  over  the  great  cliff 
of  Nunano  Pali.  This  great  precipice  is  visited  by  all 
tourists,  and  is  considered  the  view-point  for  as  fine 
scenery  as  can  be  found  in  the  world.  Kamehameha 
the  Great  established  the  ruling  line,  which  held  power 
until  1874,  when  Lunalilo  was  elected  to  the  throne. 
At  his  death,  in  1891,  he  was  succeeded  by  his  sister, 
Liliuokalani,  who  was  dethroned  by  the  revolution  of 
1893.  A  republic  was  established  July  4,  1894;  and 
the  islands  were  annexed  July  7,  1898,  as  a  Territory 
to  the  United  States.  A  fine  bronze  statue  of  Kame- 
hameha I.  stands  in  front  of  the  judiciary  building. 

9 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

There  are  eight  inhabited  islands  in  the  group,  the 
largest  being  Hawaii,  from  which  the  group  takes  its 
name,  with  an  area  of  4,015  square  miles.  The  sec- 
ond is  Maui,  with  728  square  miles;  and  then  comes 
Oahu,  on  which  Honolulu  is  situated,  with  598; 
Kauai,  with  547;  Molokai,  on  which  is  the  leper  col- 
ony, with  about  i,6cx)  lepers,  with  261  square  miles; 
Lanai,  with  138;  Niihau,  with  97;  Kahoolawe,  with 
69  square  miles.  The  total  area  is  6,449  square  miles. 
The  islands  are  mountainous,  and  on  several  are  large 
volcanoes  which  are  for  the  most  part  now  extinct. 
The  valleys  are  very  fertile,  and  produce  the  various 
tropical  fruits  and  harvests.  The  banana  and  cocoa- 
nut  are  seen  in  profusion  in  Honolulu.  The  pine- 
apple grows  to  a  very  laige  size.  The  orange  grows, 
but  not  so  well  as  in  California.  Raw  sugar  is  the 
principal  product,  its  export  value  for  the  last  year 
having  been  $26,860,000.  About  $100,000,000  is  in- 
vested in  the  sugar  interests,  which  employed  last  year 
45,000  men.  The  exports  for  fruits  last  year  amount- 
ed to  $400,000;  for  rice,  $147,000;  and  for  coffee, 
$145,000. 

A  good  school  system  is  in  operation,  which  pre- 
pares pupils  for  our  American  colleges.  There  is  a 
good  Territorial  Normal  School,  which  trains  teach- 
ers. Oahu  College  was  founded  sixty  years  ago  by 
missionaries.  There  are  about  two  hundred  Churches 
in  the  islands.  The  Congregationalists  are  the  lead- 
ing denomination.  Rev.  Hiram  Bingham,  a  mission- 
ary of  the  Congregational  Church,  who  died  in  New 
Haven,  Conn.,  November  11,  1869,  at  eighty  years, 
preached  the  first  sermon  in  Honolulu  April  25,  1820. 
The  first  church  was  brought  from  New  England  by 

10 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

ship  around  Cape  Horn  and  set  up.  The  little  wood- 
en building  still  stands  near  the  Kawaiahao  Church, 
which  was  built  for  the  natives  and  dedicated  July 
12,  1842.  This  church  was  built  of  coral,  which  was 
brought  by  hand  out  of  the  sea ;  and  in  it  the  royal 
family,  as  well  as  the  great  body  of  the  natives,  have 
worshiped  for  these  sixty  years.  The  worship  is  con- 
ducted in  the  Hawaiian  language,  although  the  pas- 
tor is  an  American.  Churches  for  the  natives,  the 
Portuguese,  the  Japanese,  the  Chinese,  and  the  Ko- 
reans are  supported  by  the  Congregational  Church. 
On  Wednesday  night  while  in  Honolulu  I  had  the 
pleasure  of  attending  services  in  the  fine  Central  Un- 
ion Church,  which  was  built  a  few  years  ago  at  a 
cost  of  $130,000.  It  and  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  the  small  Episcopal  Church,  the  small  Chris- 
tian Church  make  the  list  of  the  churches  for  the 
white  people  in  the  islands.  The  speaker  of  the  even- 
ing was  Bishop  David  H.  Moore,  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  who  had  just  closed  the  annual 
session  of  the  Hawaiian  Mission.  His  Church  has 
forty-five  stations  in  the  islands  among  the  natives, 
the  Japanese,  the  Koreans,  and  the  Filipinos.  The 
missions  among  the  Chinese  are  conducted  by  the  Con- 
gregationalists.  The  Bishop  gave  an  excellent  ad- 
dress on  the  Orient.  I  was  greatly  interested  in  the 
mission  of  his  Church  for  the  Koreans,  and  visited 
the  large  mission  here  in  Honolulu. 

A  car  ride  or  a  stroll  through  the  city  will  reveal  a 
world  of  floral  beauty.  Every  yard  is  a  flower  gar- 
den, and  every  home  a  conservatory.  The  richest  col- 
ors and  the  choicest  clusters  are  found  on  every  side. 
The  banyan  tree,  the  cocoanut  tree,  the  banana  plant 

11 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

full  of  bananas,  the  immense  palms,  the  mangoes — all 
interested  me  very  much.  A  visit  to  the  aquarium 
gave  me  an  opportunity  to  see  the  finest  collection  of 
variously  colored  and  formed  fish  in  the  world.  A  big 
shark  twelve  feet  long,  a  turtle  three  feet  across,  a 
case  filled  with  octopi — all  attracted  the  attention  of 
the  visitors.  I  felt  glad  that  they  and  I  did  not  move 
in  the  same  social  circle. 

Honolulu  is  a  delightful  place  in  which  to  spend  a 
few  weeks  or  months.  The  cloud-topped  mountains 
are  always  in  view.  The  temperature  is  never  uncer- 
tain or  unpleasant.  The  waters  offer  perennial  bath- 
ing. The  hotels  and  even  market  places  are  always 
in  holiday  attire.  The  flower  sellers  are  always  sitting 
in  the  streets.  The  Chinese  quarters  always  have  a 
bad  odor.  The  coachmen  and  the  automobilists  are 
always  ready  to  make  the  tourist  suffer.  Great  is  Hon- 
olulu. It  was  pleasant  to  see  and  delightful  to  remem- 
ber. The  circumstances  under  which  we  spent  the 
twenty-two  hours  made  us  thankful  for  the  kind  prov- 
idence that  brought  us  into  its  waters. 

12 


CHAPTER  II. 
The  First  Touch  of  Japan. 

THE  long  voyage  of  eighteen  days  from  San  Fran- 
cisco to  Yokohama  did  not  grow  monotonous, 
although  there  was  nothing  to  look  out  upon  except 
the  boundless  wateres.  To  be  sure,  the  stop  of  twen- 
ty-two hours  at  Honolulu  and  the  sight  of  the  Ha- 
waiian Islands  for  other  ten  hours  brought  some  re- 
lief to  those  who  were  weary  of  the  watery  wastes; 
Only  one  vessel  of  any  description  was  sighted  during 
the  entire  voyage,  and  that  was  near  San  Francisco, 
How  different  is  travel  on  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  where 
vessels  are  passed  every  day  and  often  several  times  a 
day!  The  Pacific  Ocean  has  not  yet  become  a  high- 
way of  traffic,  and  will  not  soon  become  so  important' 
in  the  world's  commerce  as  her  sister  sea.  While  the 
absence  of  vessels  may  lessen  the  interest  of  a  voyage, 
yet  it  insures  greater  safety,  as  the  majority  of  dis- 
asters at  sea  are  due  to  collisions  in  times  of  fog  or 
storm.  We  had  no  fogs  and  few  clouds.  The  journey 
for  the  most  part  was  made  under  clear  skies,  with 
full  sunshine  by  day  and  bright  starlight  or  melloW' 
moonlight  by  night.  The  fullness  of  the  day  was 
hardly  more  gorgeous  than  the  glory  of  the  night. 
But  that  does  not  mean  that  the  sea  was  always  quiet. 
A  disturbance  in  the  sea  does  not  pass  with  the  local 
storm.  The  great  swells  that  try  the  very  ribs  of  the 
iron  vessels  may  have  had  their  origin  thousands  of 
miles  away.    The  currents  of  the  ocean  may  have  dis- 

13 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

turbances  that  they  do  not  transmit  to  each  other. 
The  navigator  has  his  difficulties  and  must  be  ever 
upon  the  alert.  If  the  men  who  run  the  railroad  trains 
in  the  United  States  were  half  as  careful  as  the  officers 
of  a  ship,  the  accidents  in  which  so  many  thousand 
lives  are  lost  would  be  greatly  decreased.  Eternal 
vigilance  is  required  of  those  who  sail  the  seas,  and 
as  a  result  the  percentage  of  lives  lost  is  almost  noth- 
ing as  compared  with  that  of  the  railroads.  We  had 
storms  as  well  as  quietness,  but  journeying  mercies 
were  ever  manifest. 

We  went  to  sleep  one  Sunday  night,  and  when  we 
awoke  it  was  Tuesday  morning.  A  passenger  had  ex- 
pected to  celebrate  his  birthday  anniversary  on  that 
Monday;  but  there  was  no  February  lo,  and  his  ex- 
perience was  unique.  So  February,  after  all,  will  have 
only  twenty-eight  days  for  us  this  leap  year.  But  we 
felt  that  we  had  gained  something,  as  previous  to  that 
Sunday  we  were  doing  everything  after  the  rest  of 
the  world,  whereas  by  dropping  oiit  that  day  we  got 
in  front  and  now  eat,  sleep,  and  employ  our  time  be- 
fore those  at  home.  The  passengers  who  cross  the 
Pacific  Ocean  from  Japan  to  the  United  States  have 
two  days  with  the  same  name.  Our  watches  had  to 
be  turned  back  about  thirty  minutes  each  day,  and  in 
crossing  in  the  opposite  way  they  would  be  turned  up 
that  much. 

Religious  services  were  conducted  every  Sunday 
morning  at  lo  :30  o'clock  by  some  minister  among  the 
passengers.  A  goodly  number  of  the  passengers  at- 
tended the  services,  while  others  continued  their  card- 
playing  and  games  just  as  they  did  on  other  days.  The 
captain  did  not  attend  a  single  service,  and  neither 

14 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

did  any  officer  or  member  of  the  entire  crew.  Serv- 
ices on  this  Hne  of  steamers  must  be  provided  by  the 
passengers.  Yet  the  officers  and  other  members  of 
the  crew  were  able  to  attend  the  entertainments  which 
the  passengers  furnished  on  different  afternoons  and 
evenings.  It  is  true  that  the  captain,  according  to 
report,  read  the  burial  service  while  the  passengers 
were  asleep  one  midnight  when  a  Japanese  who  had 
died  that  day  in  the  steerage  of  consumption  was 
buried  at  sea. 

"To-morrow  morning  we  shall  see  land,"  and  every 
heart  beat  with  joy.  The  sea  had  been  boisterous,  and 
before  the  morrow  came  we  had  the  heaviest  storm  of 
the  entire  voyage.  But  the  morning  dawned  in  a 
calm,  and  all  eyes  were  gladdened  with  the  sight  of 
Japan.  We  had  seen  a  few  sea  gulls,  some  flying  fish, 
and  two  sharks,  but  the  land  on  the  eastern  side  of 
the  world  was  what  we  had  made  the  long  voyage  to 
see.  At  noon  we  dropped  anchor  at  the  quarantine 
boat  in  the  Yokohama  harbor.  We  had  passed  the 
navy  yard  on  our  left,  and  had  passed  between  the 
two  forts  which  had  been  built  at  the  mouth  of  the 
harbor.  These  forts  mean  strong  defense  against  any 
foreign  foe.  Soon  the  physicians  were  on  board.  The 
officers  and  crew  were  lined  up  and  faithfully  inspect- 
ed. The  cabin  passengers  were  called  to  lunch ;  and 
as  the  harbor  was  quiet,  and  everybody  for  one  time 
was  able  to  be  at  the  table,  there  was  no  trouble  about 
inspection.  People  that  could  eat  heartily  the  meats 
and  vegetables  that  had  been  out  eighteen  days  from 
San  Francisco  surely  were  in  good  condition.  Before 
I  had  finished  my  lunch  letters  from  Dr.  H.  M.  Hamill, 
our  Superintendent  of  Sunday  School  Teacher-Train- 

15 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

ing,  who  has  been,  with  his  wife,  holding  institutes 
for  four  months  in  Japan,  from  Rev.  S,  E.  Hager,  the 
presiding  elder  of  the  Kobe  District,  Rev.  Thomas  H. 
Haden  and  Rev.  W.  K.  Matthews,  of  the  Kwansei 
Gakuin,  and  Rev.  C.  B.  Moseley,  of  Yamaguchi,  were 
handed  me;  and  the  gracious,  cheery  words  of  wel- 
come to  Japan  put  a  new  warmth  into  my  heart. 
With  such  letters  on  arrival,  it  did  not  seem  so  dread- 
ful to  put  foot  on  a  foreign  soil.  Before  I  had  fin- 
ished my  letters  our  good  ship  had  passed  inside  the 
breakwater,  and  was  fast  coming  to  its  place  of  per- 
manent anchorage.  The  harbor  was  literally  covered 
with  "sampans,"  the  little  boats  which  the  coolies  bring 
out  to  land  baggage.  Before  the  passengers  could  go 
down  to  the  little  steam  launches  to  be  taken  ashore, 
a  body  of  fifty  or  more  merchants  came  on  board  the 
ship.  Many  of  them  were  tailors  for  men  and  women. 
They  would  take  measurements  and  make  a  suit  of 
clothes  at  very  reasonable  rates,  and  deliver  the  suit 
in  twenty-four  hours,  or  before  the  vessel  left  the  har- 
bor for  other  ports.  The  Yokohama  merchant  tailors 
are  largely  patronized  by  travelers  in  the  East.  The 
fact  is,  the  Yokohama  stores  are  widely  known  as 
carrying  the  best  goods  in  all  lines  that  can  be  found 
in  the  East.  The  ladies  are  always  glad  of  an  oppor- 
tunity to  go  shopping  in  Yokohama. 

We  had  no  such  trouble  in  the  customhouse  as  trav- 
elers usually  have  in  entering  the  United  States.  No 
self-respecting  person  is  proud  of  our  tariff  laws  and 
the  manner  in  which  duties  are  collected  at  our  ports 
of  entry.  As  we  had  decided  to  go  at  once  to  Tokyo, 
which  is  only  eighteen  miles  away,  our  first  experience 
came  in  transferring  baggage  and  our  own  precious 

16 


JAPANESE  GIRL   IN    STREET  COSTUME. 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

bodies.  There  is  no  transfer  company  in  Yokohama, 
but  a  vast  company  of  men  who  will  transfer  any- 
thing on  a  cart  or  on  their  backs.  So  the  trunks  and 
bags  were  piled  on  a  cart,  and  a  coolie  paced  off. 
The  coolie's  reputation  for  reliability  is  so  great  that 
we  had  no  concern.  We  took  our  first  ride  in  a  jin- 
rikisha.  That  was  a  novel  experience,  riding  in  a  two- 
wheeled  baby  buggy  drawn  by  a  pacing  Japanese.  My 
feelings  of  self-importance  were  somewhat  tempered 
by  the  reflection  that  if  the  coolie  could  lift  his  shafts 
over  his  head  or  drop  them  at  his  feet  I  would  be  in 
the  dust.  But  the  coolie  is  reliable,  and  he  can  make 
good  speed.  There  were  no  horses  and  drays  in  the 
streets — only  people.  Other  jinrikishas  passed  and 
carts  of  various  kinds,  all  drawn  by  men.  The  tele- 
phone company's  cart  passed  with  instruments,  lad- 
ders, and  wires.  One  man  passed  with  a  telephone 
pole  as  large  as  any  used  in  American  cities  on  a  two- 
wheeled  cart.  He  was  drawing  it  by  a  rope  which 
was  thrown  over  his  shoulder.  Another  man,  who 
had  drawn  a  telephone  pole,  was  being  assisted  by 
three  other  men  over  the  incline  at  a  bridge.  The 
strength  of  these  little  men  is  truly  remarkable.  The 
jinrikisha  men  will  take  a  man  a  distance  of  fifty  miles 
across  the  country  in  a  day.  They  never  walk  and 
seldom  run,  but  they  trot  at  a  gait  which  they  can 
keep  up  for  ten  hours  in  the  day.  Although  Tokyo 
is  crossed  in  every  direction  by  the  electric  street  cars, 
there  are  in  the  city  thirty  thousand  jinrikisha  men, 
which  is  ten  thousand  less  than  before  the  street  cars 
came.  The  Japanese  have  not  learned  to  use  the  horse. 
In  Tokyo  there  are  a  few  carriage  horses,  but  almost 
no  draught  horses.  The  draught  horses  that  I  saw 
2  17 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

were  not  valuable.  Only  one  horse  is  hitched  to  a  dray, 
and  instead  of  being  driven  he  is  led.  It  is  very 
doubtful  if  the  horse  will  ever  be  used  extensively  in 
this  country,  as  the  introduction  of  steam  motors  will 
obviate  the  necessity  for  using  horses. 

Railroad  travel  is  somewhat  cheaper  here  than  in 
the  United  States.  There  are  three  classes  in  the 
tickets  and  coaches.  The  majority  of  the  people  travel 
in  the  second  class  at  a  rate  of  a  cent  and  a  half  a 
mile.  The  accommodations  are  practically  as  good  as 
those  of  the  first  class.  The  third  class  is  used  largely 
by  the  poorer  people.  The  coaches  are  entered  on 
the  side,  as  in  England,  but  the  apartments  are  larger. 
The  baggage  is  checked  as  in  the  United  States,  but 
the  amount  that  is  carried  free  is  less.  The  trains  are 
comfortable,  but  the  luxury  of  the  American  sleeper 
is  unknown.  Greater  precaution  is  taken  in  running 
trains  than  in  the  United  States.  The  tickets  are 
punched  by  the  gateman  on  entering  the  train  and 
taken  up  by  the  gateman  at  the  station  where  the  pas- 
senger leaves  the  train.  On  the  street  cars  a  receipt 
is  given  when  the  fare  is  paid  and  taken  up  when  the 
passenger  leaves  the  car.  This  system  in  handling 
traffic  is  European  rather  than  American. 

On  landing  at  Yokohama  we  went  at  once  to  Tokyo, 
not  because  Yokohama,  the  chief  seaport  city  of  the 
empire,  with  its  population  of  326,000  people,  was  un- 
worthy of  consideration ;  but  because  Yokohama  is 
cosmopolitan,  while  Tokyo  is  distinctly  Japanese.  .  The 
Yokohama  hotels,  banks,  business  houses  showed 
clearly  the  marks  of  the  foreigner  who  had  settled 
there  to  make  money.  Many  of  the  large  buildings 
were  modern  and  Western  in  their  architecture.     On 

18 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

the  principal  streets  the  signs  on  stores  and  offices 
were  printed  in  Enghsh.  Some  quarters  of  the  city 
are  built  up  with  residences  of  foreign  style.  But 
Tokyo  is  thoroughly  Japanese,  and  whatever  changes 
it  may  show  are  due,  not  to  the  incoming  of  foreign- 
ers, but  to  the  new  ideas  of  the  native  people.  It  is  a 
most  interesting  city.  Its  two  million  people  will  fur- 
nish entertainment  and  instruction  for  a  company  of 
tourists  for  a  much  greater  time  than  was  at  my  dis- 
posal. 

Nothing  makes  a  traveler  feel  more  helpless  in  a 
strange  land  than  his  utter  inability  to  make  himself 
understood  or  to  understand  anything  that  is  said  to 
him.  However,  it  was  a  matter  of  surprise  to  me  to 
find  at  every  railroad  station  some  official  who  could 
speak  and  understand  sufficient  English  to  answer  any 
question  regarding  trains  and  baggage  to  assist  any 
nervous  traveler.  I  did  not  ride  on  a  street  car  in 
Tokyo  on  which  I  did  not  find  some  passenger  who 
understood  some  English.  The  universal  kindness  of 
the  people  in  assisting  the  bridle-tongued,  white-faced 
American  was  a  matter  of  common  comment  in  our 
party.  The  officials  on  the  street  cars  and  on  the  trains 
were  always  ready  to  aid  the  passengers  in  making 
changes  and  in  finding  their  destinations.  The  Amer- 
ican car  men  and  trainmen  might  become  much  more 
serviceable  did  they  manifest  the  same  spirit  as  the  lit- 
tle men  in  this  land.  But  the  American  is  satisfied 
with  his  own  method  of  doing  things,  and  even  with 
his  own  restricted,  sloven  speech;  while  every  Jap- 
anese lad  wants  to  learn  the  English  language  to 
please  those  who  seek  assistance.  The  boards  of  edu- 
cation have  put  English  into  the  course  of  study  of 

19 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

all  their  schools,  and  it  is  surprising  how  many  Jap- 
anese speak  English  and  speak  it  quite  well. 

I  spent  only  one  night  in  a  hotel  in  Tokyo,  and  that 
in  a  hostelry  for  foreign  customers.  The  Japanese 
hotel,  with  its  peculiar  food  peculiarly  prepared  and 
the  floor  for  a  bedstead,  a  roll  of  blankets  for  a  bed, 
with  no  fire  by  which  to  be  warmed  and  only  a  thin 
wall  to  separate  him  from  the  outside  world,  would 
not  delight  an  American  on  a  cold  night  with  its  pen- 
etrating atmosphere,  A  condition  of  temperature  is 
imaginable  when  such  an  inn  might  be  sought  for  the 
experience,  but  February  is  not  a  good  time  to  ex- 
periment with  native  beds  and  else  in  Japan.  While 
the  night  in  the  Tokyo  hotel  was  not  unpleasant,  yet 
the  invitation  which  came  the  next  morning  from  that 
fine-souled,  big-hearted  manager  of  the  Methodist 
Publishing  House,  the  Rev.  David  S.  Spencer,  to  be- 
come guests  in  his  home  was  not  to  be  declined  at 
such  a  time  and  in  such  a  place.  Twenty-five  years 
ago  he  came  to  Japan  as  a  missionary  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church,  and  his  fund  of  information 
was  adequate  to  any  demands.  What  a  joy  to  the 
two  weary  pilgrims  the  stay  in  his  home  was !  In 
many  places  tourists  are  compelled  to  seek  the  homes 
of  missionaries  to  find  the  accommodations  for  food 
and  sleep  which  their  lifelong  training  demands.  The 
accommodations  of  any  Oriental  country  will  not  sat- 
isfy Occidental  people. 

The  visit  of  our  party  (consisting  of  Rev.  Cort- 
land Myers,  D.D.,  the  pastor  of  the  Baptist  Temple  in 
Brooklyn,  his  wife  and  son,  and  my  wife,  Mr,  Stewart, 
and  myself)  to  some  of  the  thickly  settled  quarters  of 
the  city  under  the  direction  of  Rev.  Charles  Bishop, 

20 


ETCHINGS     OF    THE     EAST 

the  Cashier  of  the  Methodist  PiibHshing  House,  gave 
us  the  first  introduction  to  Japanese  life.  At  first  it 
seemed  strange  that  none  of  the  houses  had  been  paint- 
ed. The  Japanese  wants  to  see  the  natural  wood  in 
his  house.  When  the  weather  destroys  the  house,  a 
new  one  is  substituted ;  and  that  is  not  a  difficult  mat- 
ter, as  the  residences  and  most  of  the  stores  are  built 
of  wood.  The  walls  have  the  thickness  of  one  plank, 
and  the  doors  are  often  no  more  than  screens  covered 
with  tissue  paper.  The  doors  are  not  hung  on  hinges, 
but  slide  in  grooves.  In  front  of  the  front  door  is 
usually  a  double  gate  which  moves  in  a  groove.  I  did 
not  enter  any  homes,  as  I  had  no  invitations,  but  I 
saw  into  several  where  the  doors  and  even  the  front 
wall  were  pushed  back  so  as  to  let  in  fresh  air  and 
sunshine.  There  are  no  chairs,  as  the  people  always 
sit  on  the  floor.  There  are  no  beds,  as  they  sleep  on 
the  floor.  There  is  no  dining  table,  as  the  Japanese 
do  not  gather  about  a  common  board,  but  each  has  his 
individual  platter,  which  stands  on  legs  about  five  or 
six  inches  high.  But  each  floor  is  covered  with  beau- 
tiful, clean  matting.  The  partition  walls  are  screens, 
and  they  can  be  moved  so  as  to  make  one  large  room 
or  several  small  ones.  The  whole  system  of  Japanese 
homes  renders  house-cleaning  and  housekeeping  a 
matter  of  little  drudgery.  The  Japanese  home  might 
at  first  seem  severely  barren,  but  after  a  time  it  be- 
comes beautiful  in  its  simplicity. 

The  stores  interested  me  fully  as  much  as  the  resi- 
dences. I  went  to  the  largest  department  store  in 
Japan,  on  the  leading  street  in  Tokyo.  At  the  door  I 
was  shown  a  large  doormat.  I  used  it  vigorously. 
Then  a  porter  picked  up  my  feet  and  drew  on  over 

21 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

my  shoes  cloth  slippers.  I  stepped  up  on  a  floor 
raised  about  twelve  inches,  and  proceeded  to  the  coun- 
ters to  do  business.  The  same  kind  of  beautiful,  sim- 
ple, clean  matting  covered  the  floor  of  the  store  as 
that  which  was  in  the  residence.  The  salesmen  and 
salesladies  were  uniformly  polite.  I  bought  nothing, 
but  I  took  a  lesson  in  keeping  clean  the  public  build- 
ings of  a  city.  The  little  store  had  no  cloth  slippers, 
as  the  keeper  expected  the  customer  to  remove  his 
shoes  if  he  entered.  There  is  no  door  to  the  little 
store.  The  floor  is  raised  about  eighteen  inches,  and  is 
covered  with  clean  matting.  The  merchant  sits  on  the 
floor,  or,  more  properly,  on  his  feet,  and  keeps  his 
hands  warm  by  the  little  charcoal  fire  in  the  brazier, 
a  little  vessel  about  eight  to  ten  inches  high  and  ten  to 
twelve  inches  in  diameter.  He  has  no  fireplace  or 
stove  in  his  residence  or  store.  The  customer  comes 
into  the  store,  slips  off  his  sandals  or  wooden  shoes, 
kneels,  and  sits  down  on  his  feet.  The  merchant  rises 
to  get  the  goods  wanted,  and  the  two  sit  on  the  floor 
until  the  sale  is  made  or  the  customer  leaves.  When 
night  comes,  the  merchant  slides  in  the  screen  which 
makes  the  front  wall  of  his  house,  and  then  lies  down 
to  pleasant  dreams.  In  this  may  be  seen  something 
of  the  simple  life.  Who  will  change  it  or  substitute  for 
it  the  inconveniences  which  come  with  the  manner  of 
living  which  the  American  has  adopted? 

The  parks  which  we  visited  would  do  credit  to  any 
city  in  the  world.  In  one  we  found  a  zoological  gar- 
den which  contained  more  wild  animals  than  can  be 
found  in  most  cities  in  our  country.  In  this  same  park 
was  a  large  museum  in  which  were  very  fine  collections 
of  all  kinds  of  ores,  minerals,  stuffed  birds  and  ani- 

22 


PLAYING   THE   KOTO. 


YOUNG    WOMEN    IN    A    SOCIAL    GAME. 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

mals.  The  curios  and  relics  were  as  interesting  and 
instructive  as  any  which  can  be  found  in  most  mu- 
seums. The  interesting  thing  to  this  sight-seer  was 
the  fact  that  such  a  museum  with  such  rich  collections 
could  be  found  in  the  capital  of  this  empire,  which  is 
known  as  a  heathen  nation.  But  it  is  true  that  many 
people  would  have  to  revise  their  understanding  of  the 
word  "heathen"  should  they  visit  Japan.  Japan  is  a 
non-Christian  nation,  but  it  is  not  lacking  in  cultured 
and  educated  people. 

In  this  same  park  are  two  trees  which  were  planted 
in  1869,  one  by  Gen.  U.  S.  Grant  and  the  other  by 
Mrs.  Grant,  when  they  made  the  tour  of  the  world. 
The  Japanese  are  fond  of  trees  and  flowers ;  and  how- 
ever small  their  yards,  they  always  find  a  place  to 
plant  a  shrub  or  a  flower.  It  is  strange  that  they 
should  be  enemies  of  grass.  They  sweep  their  yards 
with  bamboo  brooms,  and  no  grass  is  given  a  chance 
to  grow  anywhere.  Their  devotion  to  the  tree  is  car- 
ried to  such  an  extent  that  on  a  principal  street  there 
is  a  small  shrine  which  had  been  built  in  honor  of  a 
very  old  tree.  A  cherry  tree  will  be  allowed  to  stand 
for  years  without  bringing  any  fruit  if  it  presents  its 
rich  wealth  of  blossoms  when  the  springtime  approach- 
es. A  people  who  love  the  beautiful  so  passionately 
must  be  the  possessors  of  the  capacity  for  beautiful 
lives. 

I  cannot  make  mention  of  the  signs  of  enterprise 
and  progress  which  are  so  evident  in  Tokyo.  The 
excellent  electric  street  car  system,  which  reaches  all 
parts  of  the  city,  is  only  three  years  old.  At  present 
an  elevated  railroad  track  is  being  built  through  the 
heart  of  the  city  to  connect  the  various  railroad  sta- 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

tions  in  the  city  and  to  give  the  railroad  a  connection 
from  the  northern  to  the  southern  ports  of  the  empire. 
The  city  has  employed  a  large  company  of  men  who 
are  filling  one  of  the  great  moats  which  ran  through 
the  important  parts  of  the  town.  By  this  work  many 
streets  will  be  straightened,  new  car  lines  opened,  and 
some  new  enterprises  inaugurated.  Tokyo  has  all  the 
evidences  of  progress.  It  is  one  of  the  most  inter- 
esting cities  in  the  world  to-day,  and  its  interest  will 
increase  as  the  Japanese  come  more  and  more  in  pos- 
session of  their  native  powers. 

24 


CHAPTER  III. 
NiKKO  THE  Magnificent. 

ON  our  first  morning  in  Tokyo  we  had  the  good 
fortune  to  look  from  the  west  window  of  our 
room  upon  the  glorious  summit  of  snow-crowned  Fuji- 
yama, the  sacred  mountain  of  the  Sunrise  Kingdom. 
Many  pilgrims  in  the  summer,  between  July  15  and 
September  10,  climb  its  peak  as  an  act  of  devout  wor- 
ship. It  is  the  highest,  the  most  beautiful,  and  the 
most  famous  mountain  in  Japan.  It  is  12,500  feet  high. 
The  traveler  is  never  out  of  the  sight  of  beautiful 
and  entertaining  mountains  in  this  fascinating  coun- 
try. The  scenery  in  many  sections  is  as  charming  as 
in  any  country  in  the  Old  World.  The  valleys  are 
never  broad,  and  the  surrounding  mountains  give 
them  a  peculiar  charm. 

With  a  glimpse  of  Fuji  and  a  view  of  the  robust 
hills  and  the  praise  of  Nikko  the  Magnificent  con- 
stantly ringing  in  the  ear,  is  it  any  wonder  that  we 
set  the  earliest  day  possible  to  visit  the  far-famed  place 
of  gorgeous  temples?  Rev.  Dr.  Cortland  Myers, 
Mrs.  Myers,  and  the  son,  Cortland,  of  the  Baptist 
Temple,  in  Brooklyn,  were  as  anxious  to  make  the 
trip  as  were  the  three  tourists  from  Nashville.  A 
jollier  company  could  hardly  have  been  found  than 
that  which  took  the  six-o'clock  train  that  February 
morning.  The  change  of  trains  at  Akabane,  a  station 
in  Tokyo,  gave  us  an  opportunity  to  see  how  the  Jap- 
anese women  regarded  the  American  women.    When 

25 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

a  tall  woman  with  auburn  hair  and  one  of  average 
height  and  healthy  build  (the  one  clad  in  black,  with 
a  white  wing  on  her  hat,  and  the  other  in  blue,  with  a 
hat  of  elegant  plumes)  stepped  out  on  the  platform 
among  a  hundred  Japanese  men  and  women,  the  two 
critically  observed  parties  in  the  crowd  were  from 
America.  The  native  women,  with  low  stature,  black 
hair,  no  head  covering,  evidently  had  never  seen  wom- 
en of  such  height,  figure,  and  dress;  and  they  were 
interested,  if  not  pleased,  with  the  exhibit  of  that 
fresh,  bright  morning.  The  customs,  habits,  and  dress 
of  an  American  woman  are  as  strange  and  entertain- 
ing to  a  Japanese  as  those  of  a  Japanese  are  to  an 
American. 

The  day  was  fine ;  and  instead  of  the  expected  chill 
which  we  anticipated  on  approaching  Nikko  (two 
thousand  feet  high),  there  was  the  genial  warmth  of 
a  generous  sun.  From  the  car  window  the  mountains 
were  glorious  in  their  suit  of  brown ;  while  the  fields, 
with  their  springing  crops,  were  as  entertaining  as  a 
new  babe.  The  joyous  spirit  of  the  company  never 
abated.  Although  we  had  abundant  lunches  prepared 
by  our  friends  in  Tokyo,  yet  Cortland  and  this  writer 
thought  they  would  try  a  Japanese  lunch  which  could 
be  bought  at  almost  any  station.  The  boys  at  the 
station  sell  these  lunches,  fruit,  and  newspapers  at 
reasonable  rates,  and  they  cry  their  goods  in  most 
musical  tones.  The  courtesy  of  the  boys  and  the  rea- 
sonable price  of  the  articles  struck  the  American  trav- 
eler as  unusual.  But  the  lunch  did  not  please  the 
American  palate,  and  it  had  the  power  of  continuance. 
There  is  no  censure  of  the  Japanese  because  he  likes 
the  things  which  his  people  prepare.    He  learned  his 

26 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

tastes  when  he  learned  his  language,  as  does  every 
other  man. 

The  train  stopped  suddenly.  We  asked  no  ques- 
tions, as'  no  one  would  have  known  what  we  said. 
The  sense  of  dumbness  when  traveling  alone,  where 
no  one  can  understand  you  or  you  him,  is  rather  de- 
pressing. The  country  people  began  to  come  from  the 
fields  to  see  the  train.  On  examination  we  found  that 
something  was  wrong  with  the  engine.  The  engineer, 
the  fireman,  and  the  three  guards  all  gathered  about 
the  engine,  but  none  knew  what  to  do.  The  engineer 
seemed  to  be  about  thirty  years  old ;  the  guards,  less 
than  twenty.  There  is  no  conductor,  as  trains  are 
run  by  the  station  masters,  they  issuing  orders,  start- 
ing trains,  and  taking  tickets  when  the  passengers 
leave  the  train.  The  flagman  was  sent  to  the  nearest 
station,  and  after  nearly  two  hours  an  extra  engine 
came  and  we  went  on  our  way  rejoicing.  But  the 
utter  helplessness  of  the  trainmen  at  such  a  time  im- 
pressed the  travelers,  as  did  the  smallness  of  the 
engines  in  comparison  with  those  used  in  our  own 
country.  While  we  waited  we  gave  some  natives  a 
good  chance  to  see  some  real  live  Americans,  and  they 
improved  the  opportunity. 

The  ninety  miles  were  out,  and  we  were  in  Nikko. 
Into  jinrikishas  we  climbed,  with  two  men  to  each, 
and  in  a  few  minutes  we  were  at  the  Kanaya  Hotel. 
We  will  not  soon  forget  the  kindness  of  Mr.  I.  Kan- 
aya for  his  many  courtesies.  He  spoke  an  elegant 
English.  He  was  busily  engaged  in  putting  in  a  pri- 
vate electric  light  plant.  About  forty  men  were  draw- 
ing up  the  steep  hill  the  7,000-pound  dynamo  on  a 
two-wheeled  cart.    Man  is  the  draught  horse  of  Japan, 

27 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

Baggage-transferring,  merchandise-draying,  and  all 
kinds  of  hauling  in  town  and  country  are  done  by 
human  muscles.  Mr.  Kanaya  said  he  employed  about 
one  hundred  men  at  forty  to  fifty  cents  a  day.  That 
young  Japanese  has  the  manner,  the  enterprise,  and 
the  outlook  of  a  young  American.  From  his  yard  he 
showed  us  as  fine  a  scene  as  one  would  desire.  Cas- 
cades, rippling,  laughing  waters,  were  four  hundred 
feet  below  us,  while  the  wooded  hills  stood  out  sub- 
lime on  every  side.  After  a  glimpse  at  the  little  wood- 
en hut  which  Shado  Shonin  built  twelve  hundred 
years  ago,  we  hastened  to  the  scenes  beyond  the 
stream.  It  was  not  necessary  for  the  guide  to  say, 
"There  is  the  Sacred  Bridge,"  for  its  picture  was  too 
familiar.  But  it  is  a  new  bridge,  built  only  five  years 
ago.  The  one  which  had  stood  since  1638  was  swept 
away  in  1902  by  a  great  flood.  No  one  was  allowed 
to  cross  the  bridge  except  shoguns  and  the  pilgrims 
twice  a  year.  The  privilege  of  crossing  the  bridge 
was  extended  to  General  Grant  in  1869,  but  he  de- 
clined. Was  this  declination  out  of  respect  to  Japan 
or  America? 

Before  we  reached  Nikko  we  saw  the  noted  Cryp- 
tomeria  Avenue,  which  is  ten  to  twelve  miles  long 
and  lined  on  each  side  by  these  princes  of  the  forest. 
The  temples  of  Nikko  in  all  their  gorgeousness  could 
hardly  surpass  in  interest  these  magnificent  members 
of  the  pine  family.  Many  of  them  towered  more  than 
three  hundred  feet;  and  their  straight,  clean  bodies 
gave  them  a  military  bearing  which  made  them  the 
proper  imperial  guard  for  the  tomb  of  the  mighty 
Shogun.  Looking  from  the  highest  hill  through  this 
magnificent  forest  down  to  the  splashing  stream  dash- 

28 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

ing  over  the  stubborn  bowlders  gave  a  thrilling  sensa- 
tion which  one  visitor  to  Nikko  will  never  let  fade. 
It  is  no  wonder  that  this  region  seemed  to  the  old 
Buddhist  priest,  Shado  Shonin,  such  as  gods  and  other 
supernatural  beings  would  naturally  choose  for  their 
place  of  abode.  Nature  worshipers  will  surely  have 
their  hearts  warmed  in  such  scenery  as  this.  A  more 
fitting  resting  place  for  a  king  could  not  be  found; 
and  the  son  of  leyasu  did  a  great  filial  service  when 
he  carried  out  the  dying  injunctions  of  his  father,  the 
great  First  Shogun,  to  build  for  him  a  mausoleum  on 
this  magnificent  hill. 

After  a  climb  of  several  hundred  feet  up  the  wind- 
ing thoroughfare  we  were  soon  ascending  broad  stone 
steps  between  two  rows  of  cryptomerias.  The  granite 
torii,  twenty-seven  feet  high,  which  are  made  of  two 
columns,  with  two  crossbeams,  indicated  that  we  were 
entering  a  Shinto  temple.  These  torii  are  sacred  to 
the  birds.  As  we  passed  under  these  bars  we  were 
before  the  great  Temple  of  Yakushi,  which  is  named 
in  honor  of  the  patron  saint  of  leyasu.  Such  mag- 
nificence in  decoration  is  to  be  found  only  in  the 
greatest  temples  and  palaces  of  the  world.  The  archi- 
tecture is  of  the  gorgeous  Oriental  type,  and  must  be 
seen  to  be  appreciated.  The  gate  to  the  temple,  the 
half  dozen  small  temples,  the  great  Buddhist  pagoda 
(one  hundred  and  five  feet  high),  the  rich  bronze 
lanterns,  and  the  sublime  cryptomerias  all  made  a 
scene  so  brilliant  and  so  thrilling  that  it  is  no  wonder 
that  the  Japanese  have  been  saying:  "Do  not  say 
magnificent  until  you  have  seen  Nikko." 

But  finally  we  came  to  the  last  gate  to  be  entered 
before  we  went  into  the  temple,    "Shoes  off !"    "No." 

29 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

"Yes,  shoes  off !"  "No."  "Visitors  must  remove  their 
shoes  if  they  want  to  enter  the  temple."  We  yielded. 
The  guide  without  our  knowledge  had  brought  from 
the  hotel  six  pairs  of  cloth  shoes  to  save  us  from  too 
great  exposure.  After  the  pedal  difficulties  had  been 
removed  and  the  tickets  (which  cost  forty  cents  each) 
had  been  presented,  we  left  our  overcoats  and  hats, 
according  to  orders,  and  started  into  the  temple.  The 
half  dozen  priests  that  we  had  seen  in  the  temple 
yard  when  our  trouble  with  our  foot  coverings  began 
were  now  in  the  temple  and  incanting  prayers  with 
good,  healthy  voices.  Some  Japanese  visitors  with 
us  fell  to  their  knees,  but  the  Americans  reverently 
looked  and  listened.  The  ever-present  blocks  of  mat- 
ting, or  tatami,  as  they  are  called,  covered  the  floor, 
and  rich  screens  were  everywhere  in  evidence.  The 
magnificence  in  paintings,  carvings,  and  wrought 
bronze  and  gold  objects  was  evident  everywhere.  The 
temple  was  worthy  of  the  great  Shogun,  but  the  per- 
formance of  its  priests  seemed  solemn  mockery.  Gild- 
ed superstition  must  pass  before  golden  truth.  We 
passed  out  of  the  great  temple  to  the  little  temple, 
where  a  girl  with  a  red  dress  and  a  white  hood  gave 
a  sacred  dance  after  a  coin  had  been  thrown  upon  the 
mat  in  front  of  her.  She  was  very  graceful  in  her 
movements,  but  she  produced  no  convictions  except 
that  of  her  own  folly.  We  passed  on  through  the 
gate  over  which  is  the  carving  of  the  sleeping  cat  by 
Hidari  Jingora,  which  is  considered  one  of  the  finest 
works  of  art  in  Japan.  We  ascended  two  hundred 
stone  steps,  passed  through  a  walled  avenue  lined  by 
cryptomerias,  and  reached  the  beautiful  bronze  tomb 
of  the  great  Shogun,  leyasu. 

30 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

The  mausoleum  of  lemitsu  is  not  much  less  magnifi- 
cent, but  the  Buddhists  have  appropriated  it  in  part. 
The  visit  to  other  objects  of  Nikko  would  have  had 
greater  interest  had  we  not  been  satiated  by  what  we 
had  already  seen.  The  memory  of  this  day  in  the  most 
beautiful  place  in  Japan  will  always  linger  in  the 
minds  of  the  six  Americans,  who  so  thoroughly  en- 
joyed magnificent  Nikko.  But  Nikko  is  not  in  her 
true  glory  except  on  the  first  and  second  days  of  June, 
when  the  great  annual  festivals  are  held.  The  pil- 
grims gather  then  in  great  numbers ;  and  the  sacred 
palanquins,  containing  the  divine  symbols,  are  borne 
in  the  procession.  Ancient  costumes,  masks,  and 
armor  are  donned  by  the  villagers,  old  and  young 
alike.  But  of  that  display  this  pen  will  probably  never 
write.  Nikko  the  Magnificent  has  charms  for  all  who 
appreciate  the  sublime  and  the  beautiful. 

31 


CHAPTER  IV. 
Tokyo  the  Imperial  and  Other  Cities. 

THE  capital  city  of  a  nation  always  has  an  attrac- 
tion for  a  traveler  which  no  other  city  can  pos- 
sess. Tokyo  to-day  is  not  only  the  imperial  city  of 
the  Sunrise  Kingdom,  but  it  is  also  in  many  respects 
the  capital  of  the  Orient,  whatever  the  enemies  of 
Japan  may  say.  The  political,  industrial,  and  social 
movements  in  Japan  create  more  interest  and  are 
watched  with  greater  concern  and  closer  scrutiny  than 
those  of  any  other  nation  of  the  Eastern  Continent. 
The  world  has  asked  to  be  kept  informed  as  to  what 
is  going  on  in  Tokyo.  It  is  the  center  of  an  empire 
of  48,000,000  people.  It  is  a  great  city,  although  its 
little  wooden  one-  and  two-story  houses  would  not  in- 
dicate it.  A  few  cement  structures  are  now  being 
built,  since  the  earthquake  in  San  Francisco  has  shown 
that  such  buildings  are  not  so  greatly  affected  by  the 
earth  movements  as  those  of  brick  and  stone.  The 
small,  light  houses  were  less  dangerous  where  earth- 
quakes were  frequent.  But  the  busy  hive  always  ex- 
cites interest  and  admiration,  and  things  are  moving 
in  Tokyo. 

It  is  true  I  did  not  see  the  Emperor  nor  even  his 
palace.  I  did  see  the  moat  one  hundred  to  two  hun- 
dred feet  wide,  filled  with  water,  which  surrounds  the 
palace.  But  the  trouble  it  would  be  to  get  into  the 
palace  was  not  such  as  I  felt  inclined  to  take.  Even 
the  wild  ducks  and  wild  geese  settled  on  the  Emperor's 

32 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

side  of  the  moat  with  a  seeming  sense  of  safety,  as 
though  they  knew  that  imperial  instruction  had  been 
given  that  they  should  never  be  molested.  I  felt  a 
little  skeptical  as  to  the  Emperor's  divinity,  as  I  would 
of  any  other  man's  who  kept  a  harem  with  a  dozen 
wives.  However,  I  rejoice  with  the  Christian  world 
that  the  Crown  Prince  has  only  one  wife.'  Better 
days  for  social  consistency  are  coming  in  Japan  with 
the  heir  to  the  throne  a  monogamist. 

I  was  not  able  to  get  any  war  news  in  Tokyo,  al- 
though I  saw  some  soldiers.  The  fact  is,  there  are  a 
great  many  soldiers  in  Japan,  but  not  as  many  as  there 
are  in  Russia,  Germany,  Italy,  France,  and  England.  I 
found  no  one  in  Japan  who  was  able  to  think  of  any 
reason  or  excuse  for  a  war  between  Japan  and  the 
United  States.  One  gentleman,  who  has  a  reputation 
for  his  good  judgment  and  his  general  knowledge  of 
the  Japanese,  said  that  Japan  to-day  would  be  one  of 
the  first  nations  of  the  world  to  take  international 
difficulties  to  The  Hague.  This  country  is  now 
deeply  involved  and  absorbed  in  working  some  great 
industrial  plans.  The  only  people  who  seem  to  want 
war  are  the  yellow  journalists  and  a  few  military  gen- 
tlemen in  both  countries  who  seek  fame  on  the  field 
of  blood.  It  is  true  that  the  leading  Japanese  are  of 
high  spirit,  and  they  resent  any  indignities  which  may 
be  shown  their  nation  or  any  of  its  citizens ;  but  the 
desire  of  the  people  is  for  peace.  It  is  to  be  devoutly 
hoped  that  this  nation  will  not  be  disturbed  in  its  plans 
for  peace  and  prosperity.  The  people  are  now  strug- 
gling under  a  great  war  tax  on  almost  everything. 
Even  the  railroad  and  street  car  tickets  are  taxed. 
This  is  a  time  for  peace  in  Japan,  and  only  the  grossest 
3  33 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

indignities  or  the  most  glaring  injustice  will  provoke 
this  enterprising  nation  to  a  declaration  of  war. 

Through  the  kindness  of  Dr.  Spencer  a  visit  to  the 
Houses  of  Parliament  was  made.  Parliament  was  not 
in  session  that  day,  but  a  view  of  the  legislative  halls 
and  the  committee  rooms  was  worth  while.  The  pres- 
ent buildings  are  of  wood,  but  plans  have  been  al- 
ready adopted  for  the  erection  of  more  pretentious 
edifices  on  a  more  commanding  site.  However,  the 
present  halls  are  not  discreditable.  They  have  demo- 
cratic simplicity,  and  are  by  no  means  without  artistic 
taste.  The  legislative  halls  are  not  greatly  different 
from  those  at  Washington  except  that  behind  the  desk 
of  the  President  of  the  House  of  Peers  is  the  alcove 
in  which  is  the  throne  from  which  the  Emperor  speaks 
at  the  opening  and  the  closing  of  a  session  of  Par- 
liament. 

The  various  embassies  are  located  near  the  Houses 
of  Parliament.  Some  of  the  legation  buildings  are 
quite  palatial  and  are  pointed  out  as  places  of  special 
interest.  The  building  for  the  United  States  govern- 
ment is  of  wood  and  not  wholly  creditable  to  our 
nation.  It  is  democratic,  to  be  sure,  as  it  should  be ; 
but  it  might  well  be  more  representative  of  our  coun- 
try and  more  respectful  of  the  country  in  which  it  is 
located.  Many  of  our  foreign  offices  have  been  put 
where  only  men  of  wealth  can  hold  them.  This  condi- 
tion is  to  be  deplored.  But  the^e  is  a  middle  ground 
upon  which  a  great  republic  like  ours  can  stand.  The 
legation  in  Japan  has  claims  for  better  accommoda- 
tions. 

The  business  interests  of  Tokyo  seem  to  be  in- 
creasing rapidly.     The  number  of  large  new  business 

34 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

houses  is  growing,  and  some  of  the  firms  are  opening 
large  department  stores  after  the  pattern  of  those  in 
America.  The  Japanese  loves  the  dollar  almost  as 
much  as  the  American,  and  he  has  found  that  it  can 
be  obtained  only  by  adopting  the  ways  of  the  com- 
mercial world.  The  foreign  merchant  complains  that 
the  Japanese  are  wanting  in  commercial  integrity. 
Their  contracts  do  not  bind  them  as  contracts  bind 
the  merchants  of  the  Christian  nations.  It  is  claimed 
that  a  Japanese  business  man  will  break  a  contract 
if  he  can  make  money  by  so  doing.  This  character- 
istic of  the  Japanese  is  affecting  very  materially  his 
prospects  in  the  commercial  world.  This  national 
failing  may  be  due  to  the  fact  that  all  business  with 
outside  nations  was  formerly  carried  on  by  pirates. 
It  was  for  centuries  considered  unworthy  of  any  high- 
class  gentleman  to  deal  in  commerce  with  outside  peo- 
ple. So  those  sterling  traits  of  commercial  character 
were  not  developed,  and  the  nation  has  yet  to  learn 
the  true  meaning  of  business  integrity.  But  new 
Japan  will  learn  the  business  code  of  morals.  The 
schools  of  commerce  which  have  been  established  will 
help  to  bring  faithfulness  into  all  business  dealings. 
Merchants  from  Christian  countries  do  not  always 
realize  that  Christianity  has  built  for  them  a  code  of 
morals  which  could  not  be  expected  in  non-Christian 
countries.  Christian  principles  and  high  business 
ideals  will  help  to  correct  some  defects  in  the  Jap- 
anese commercial  world. 

One  of  the  highest  privileges  w4iich  our  party  en- 
joyed was  a  visit  to  the  celebrated  private  museum  of 
Mr.  Kihachiro  Okura.  Dr.  D.  S.  Spencer  has  known 
Mr.  Okura   for  many  years,  and  through  him  this 

35 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

unusual  privilege  was  secured.  This  collection  of  Ori- 
ental art  is  perhaps  the  finest  to  be  found  in  the  world. 
Mr.  Okura  accumulated  great  wealth  during  the  war 
with  China,  and  he  wisely  spent  a  part  of  it  in  secur- 
ing the  most  valuable  and  representative  works  of 
art  which  could  be  found  in  the  Orient.  He  bought 
the  old  Shiba  Temple,  with  its  superior  collections  of 
figures,  altar  pieces,  rich  ceilings,  and  magnificent 
doors.  He  secured  in  Tibet  many  images,  in  China 
many  rare  articles^  and  in  Korea  the  best  specimens  of 
its  former  treasures.  Bronze,  gold,  silver,  and  lacquer, 
carvings  and  artistic  handiwork  on  swords,  coins, 
chests,  are  all  to  be  found  in  this  rare  collection.  Mr. 
Okura  erected  by  the  side  of  his  residence  a  large 
three-story  building  especially  for  these  art  treasures. 
When  we  entered  the  museum,  we  were  met  by  a  bright 
Japanese  lady,  who  spoke  excellent  English,  and  who 
acted  as  our  guide.  It  developed  that  twenty  years 
ago  she  was  a  pupil  in  the  school  conducted  by  Dr. 
and  Mrs.  Spencer.  She  is  a  Christian  woman.  She 
showed  our  party  every  courtesy.  After  visiting  the 
museum  we  were  given  a  view  of  the  beautiful  garden 
and  then  invited  into  the  residence  of  Mr.  Okura  and 
shown  his  large  drawing-room  and  entertainment  hall. 
In  the  conservatory  we  were  served  with  tea  and  made 
to  realize  more  fully  the  extreme  kindness  of  the 
wise  millionaire  who  has  done  his  city  an  abiding 
service  by  establishing  this  valuable  museum. 

Tokyo  has  many  points  of  interest.  Inability  to 
speak  the  native  language  kept  me  from  securing  an- 
swers to  many  questions  which  arose  in  my  mind  as 
I  caught  glimpses  here  and  there  of  Japanese  life.  I 
was  everywhere  impressed  with  the  fact  that  the  Jap- 

36 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

anese  are  awake  and  are  at  work  building  a  strong 
nation  after  the  pattern  of  the  great  world  powers. 
Armies  and  navies  are  receiving  great  attention,  as 
in  the  countries  of  Europe;  but  no  less  interest  is 
shown,  in  the  things  of  education,  commerce,  and  no- 
ble citizenship. 

The  ten  largest  cities  in  Japan  are  Tokyo,  with 
2,000,000  people;  Osaka,  with  1,000,000;  Kioto,  with 
385,000;  Yokohama,  with  330,000;  Nagoya,  with  300,- 
000;  Kobe,  with  290,000;  Nagasaki,  with  160,000; 
Hiroshima,  with  125,000;  Sendai,  with  102,000;  and 
Kan^zawa,  with  100,000.  There  are  fifteen  other 
cities  having  a  population  of  more  than  50,000.  Of 
the  first  ten,  I  visited  all  but  two.  The  people  of  Japan 
do  not  live  in  the  country,  but  in  the  cities,  towns, 
and  villages.  When  we  realize  that  the  whole  area 
of  the  islands  is  only  150,000  square  miles,  or  less  than 
three-fifths  of  Texas,  and  that  the  total  population  is 
almost  50,000,000,  it  can  easily  be  seen  that  the  towns 
and  villages  are  very  close  together.  Yokohama  is 
only  fifteen  miles  from  Tokyo,  Osaka  is  only  twenty 
miles  from  Kobe,  and  Kioto  is  only  twenty-seven 
miles  from  Osaka. 

After  five  days  in  Tokyo  and  the  surrounding  coun- 
try, we  took  the  express  train — the  best  train  in  Ja- 
pan— one  morning  for  Kobe,  and  traveled  the  three 
hundred  and  seventy-five  miles  in  thirteen  hours  and 
ten  minutes.  We  traveled  in  the  second-class  coach, 
as  its  accommodations  and  comforts  were  practically 
as  good  as  those  in  the  first-class  coach  except  that 
in  the  first-class  coach  we  would  probably  have  been 
alone.  If  one  wants  to  see  a  country,  it  is  well  to  go 
where  the  people  are,  if  he  can  do  so  with  comfort. 

37 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

The  tickets  cost  $i.8o  each.  However,  to  ride  on  the 
express  train,  it  is  necessary  to  secure  an  express  train 
ticket,  which  for  this  distance  amounted  to  fifty  cents. 
Then  there  is  a  war  tax  of  ten  cents  on  each  ticket. 
So  the  tickets  cost  $2.40  each  for  the  three  hundred 
and  seventy-five  miles.  The  coaches  on  this  train  were 
made  like  an  American  street  car,  except  that  the  up- 
holstery was  as  good  as  that  found  in  the  American 
railway  trains.  In  the  dining  car  we  were  able  to  get 
beefsteaks,  ham  and  eggs,  and  other  articles  at  small 
cost.  Apples  and  oranges  could  be  bought  at  any  time 
for  one  cent  each  and  sometimes  cheaper.  The  sleep- 
ing cars  are  used  only  at  night.  They  are  not  so  com- 
fortable as  those  in  America,  but  they  meet  the  de- 
mands of  a  country  no  larger  than  Japan. 

The  scenery  between  Tokyo  and  Kobe  is  exceed- 
ingly beautiful.  For  many  hours  the  train  runs  at  the 
base  of  Mount  Fuji.  A  cloud  that  day  kept  us  from 
seeing  the  summit  of  the  sacred  mountain,  but  its 
rugged  sides  were  for  some  time  in  full  view.  The 
little  fields  tucked  away  in  a  mountain  side,  the 
thatched-roofed  cottages  in  the  cozy  corners,  the  care- 
fully kept  little  orchards  of  orange  and  pear,  the 
patches  of  wheat  and  barley,  and  the  bedded  rows 
for  the  various  crops  all  held  the  attention  of  the 
traveler  as  long  as  the  day  had  light.  The  hills  and 
the  mountains,  the  rushing  streams  and  cascades,  the 
kaleidoscopic  combinations  of  nature  and  human  hand- 
iwork made  the  reading  of  books  impossible  and  filled 
the  mind  with  pictures  which  the  years  will  not  re- 
move. A  trip  to  Hiroshima  a  few  days  later  fur- 
nished a  similar  experience.  Japan  is  reputed  to  be 
most  beautiful  in  April,  when  the  cherry  blossoms  are 

38 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

out,  or  in  October,  when  the  chrysanthemums  are  in 
their  full  glory;  but  the  truth  is,  this  little  country  is 
always  beautiful,  and  the  traveler  is  doubly  paid  for 
every  journey  that  he  makes  in  this  fascinating  land. 

We  alighted  from  the  train  in  Kobe  on  Saturday 
night,  and  were  met  by  Rev.  Thomas  H.  Haden  and 
Rev.  M.  Hori.  Fortunate  is  any  man  who  is  given 
the  privilege  of  entertainment  in  the  delightful  home 
of  this  missionary  professor.  Mrs.  Haden,  so  well 
known  to  the  former  students  in  Wesley  Hall  and 
known  now  as  the  sister  of  Miss  Florence  Conwell, 
received  us  in  her  gracious  way,  and  we  were  once 
more  at  home ;  and  our  conversation  was  of  Nash- 
ville and  the  good  friends  we  had  left  behind.  As  I 
stepped  from  the  train,  Rev.  Mr.  Hori  invited  me  to 
preach  the  next  morning  in  his  church.  I  did  not 
know  how  to  decline  the  invitation,  nor  did  I  know 
how  I  was  to  preach  to  a  Japanese  congregation. 
But  at  the  proper  hour  on  Svmday  morning  I  was  in 
the  pulpit  with  an  excellent  audience  before  me.  The 
pastor  introduced  me,  although  I  never  knew  what  he 
said,  and  I  began  my  discourse.  I  spoke  a  few  sen- 
tences, and  then  let  Mr.  Hori  translate  them  for  the 
congregation.  Then  we  repeated  the  performance. 
By  the  time  he  had  finished  his  Japanese  I  had  almost 
forgotten  what  I  had  said.  I  was  anxious  to  say 
something  that  was  worthy  of  my  congregation  and 
at  no  time  repeat  my  thought.  It  is  told  that  once 
an  interpreter  said  in  Japanese,  after  the  speaker  had 
finished  a  paragraph,  simply:  "The  same  that  he  said 
before."  With  such  interpreters  some  addresses  would 
be  greatly  shortened  in  the  Japanese  form.  But  I 
counted  it  a  pleasure  and  a  privilege  to  speak  to  that 

39 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

intelligent  Japanese  audience.  At  the  close  I  was  will- 
ing to  say  of  my  discourse  as  I  never  said  of  any  other 
that  I  have  made — that  it  was  a  "great  effort." 

Rev.  S.  E.  Hager,  the  presiding  elder  of  the  Kobe 
District,  was  in  Kioto  on  that  Sunday;  but  he  had 
sent' a  message  that  he  would  remain  there  Monday  if 
we  would  come.  Rev.  W.  A.  Davis,  the  missionary 
in  Kioto,  is  on  his  way  to  America,  and  so  this  was 
an  opportunity  to  see  the  old  capital  and  in  many  ways 
the  most  interesting  city  in  Japan  with  the  aid  of  one 
who  knew  the  interesting  places.  When  we  arrived, 
not  only  was  Mr.  Hager  at  the  station,  but  Rev.  Y. 
Tanaka,  the  pastor,  was  ready  to  accompany  us.  He, 
like  Mr.  Hori,  has  never  been  in  America,  but  he 
speaks  English  well.  At  once  we  went  to  the  West 
Hongwanji,  one  of  the  greatest  and  most  famous 
Buddhist  temples  in  Japan.  We  removed  our  shoes 
and  made  a  thorough  inspection  of  this  great  place 
of  worship.  After  seeing  the  West  Hongwanji,  we 
went  to  the  East  Hongwanji,  which  is  perhaps  the 
richest  temple  in  the  empire.  The  great  beams  and 
columns  indicate  the  great  outlay  of  money  and  labor 
that  was  required  to  erect  such  a  magnificent  edifice. 
The  great  Buddhist  faith  is  not  dead,  if  we  may  judge 
from  these  temples  and  others  which  we  have  seen. 
In  one  of  these  temples  Count  Otani,  of  the  House 
of  Peers,  preaches  a  Buddhist  sermon  once  a  month  to 
large  audiences.  Buddhist  priests  are  conducting 
schools  for  boys  and  for  girls  in  many  cities.  In 
Kobe  a  new  temple  is  now  in  process  of  erection,  and 
one  in  Hiroshima  is  being  repaired  and  greatly  en- 
larged. Buddhism  will  not  evacuate  Japan  without  a 
death  struggle.    Christianity  has  already  aroused  it  to 

40 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

a  new  activity.  The  future  Buddhism  will  appropri- 
ate Christian  truths,  but  it  will  not  lightly  surrender 
its  dominion  over  the  people. 

I  cannot  speak  of  all  that  I  saw  in  Kioto,  but  I  must 
mention  Doshisha  University — that  institution  which 
was  founded  in  1875  by  Joseph  Hardy  Neesima.  Rev. 
Tasuku  Harada  is  now  the  President.  He  is  a  grad- 
uate of  the  institution  and  also  of  the  Yale  Divinity 
School.  Until  his  election  to  the  presidency  one  year 
ago  he  was  a  pastor.  He  is  a  man  of  strong  evan- 
gelical faith,  and  is  a  wise  leader  for  his  people.  Rev. 
Sidney  L.  Gulick,  D.D.,  is  a  member  of  the  faculty. 
No  Christian  institution  in  Japan  has  had  a  finer  rec- 
ord than  Doshisha  University.  Of  its  868  graduates, 
319  are  in  business,  174  are  doing  educational  work, 
91  are  in  the  ministry,  28  are  government  officials,  15 
are  editors,  and  5  are  physicians.  In  addition  to  these, 
5,000  students  have  been  connected  with  the  schools 
and  are  now  scattered  throughout  the  land,  doing  their 
work,  for  the  most  part,  in  a  way  to  prove  the  power 
of  the  Christian  influence  here  received.  Very  few 
students  remain  through  the  course  without  becoming 
Christians.  This  institution  is  rendering  a  great  serv- 
ice for  Christian  education. 

I  visited  the  Imperial  University  and  found  an  in- 
stitution well  equipped  and  doing  the  work  similar  to 
that  done  by  State  universities  in  America.  The  de- 
partments of  Literature,  Science,  Engineering,  Law, 
and  Medicine  have  large  faculties  of  well-trained  uni- 
versity men.  The  institution  is  only  ten  years  old ; 
but  it  has  1,500  students,  a  library  of  150,000  volumes, 
and  a  score  of  buildings.  The  Imperial  L^niversity  in 
Tokyo  has  four  thousand  students  and  very  fine  build- 

41 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

ings.  I  met  there  the  Professor  of  Anatomy,  who 
graduated  in  medicine  in  Germany.  While  he  could 
not  speak  the  English  language  very  well,  yet  by  the 
use  of  German  he  gave  me  a  fine  insight  into  the 
work  of  the  institution.  Japan  has  looked  well  after 
the  higher  education  of  her  people. 

The  visit  to  the  cloisonne  and  damascene  factories 
was  instructive  as  well  as  interesting.  That  delicate, 
artistic  work  shows  the  sensitive  talent  of  the  Jap- 
anese for  the  production  of  the  beautiful.  A  piece  of 
cloisonne  begins  with  the  metal  base.  After  a  cover 
of  enamel  and  a  laying  on  of  the  net  of  copper  wire, 
it  is  burned.  Then  more  enamel,  extra  wire  figures  are 
put  on,  and  the  article  is  burned  again.  This  process 
continues  through  six  burnings,  when  the  object  is 
turned  out  the  thing  of  beauty  that  it  always  is.  A 
cloisonne  factory  does  not  mean  great  buildings  and 
fine  machinery,  but  a  group  of  Japanese  artists,  mostly 
women,  seated  on  the  floor  and  each  doing  his  or  her 
own  work  with  a  care  and  an  interest  which  only 
artists  can  show.  The  Japanese  sense  of  the  beautiful 
is  seen  not  only  in  the  pottery  but  in  the  silk  fabric 
embroideries  which  are  manufactured  in  Kioto.  The 
stores  which  have  these  charming  articles  are  a  con- 
tinual temptation  to  the  traveling  American.  Kioto 
has  many  attractions.  It  was  the  capital  of  the  em- 
pire until  1868,  when  the  throne  was  restored  to  the 
present  dynasty.  Because  of  its  silk  and  pottery  man- 
ufactories, its  prominence  as  a  Buddhist  stronghold, 
and  its  former  position  in  political  affairs,  Kioto  will 
always  be  one  of  the  most  interesting  cities  in  the 
empire. 

Rev.  W.  R.  Weakley  met  us  at  the  railroad  station 
42 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

when  we  arrived  in  Osaka,  the  second  city  of  the  na- 
tion. In  his  home  we  had  delightful  entertainment. 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  H.  M.  Hamill  were  holding  a  Sunday 
School  Institute  in  Osaka,  and  were  being  entertained 
by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Weakley.  We  had  soul-warming  as- 
sociation. The  whole  party  visited  the  old  castle,  the 
churches,  the  old  temples,  and  the  great  bell  which  has 
just  been  completed.  This  Shotoku  bell,  made  as  a 
memorial  to  Prince  Shotoku,  is  26  feet  high,  54  feet 
in  circumference,  16  feet  in  diameter,  one  foot  seven 
inches  thick,  and  weighs  114  tons.  Ninety  thousand 
people  contributed  150,000  pieces  of  copper  mirrors 
and  120,000  yen  in  money.  Thirty  tons  of  copper 
bullion  was  consumed  in  making  it.  This  is  the  largest 
bell  in  the  v/orld.  But  the  bell,  the  temples,  and  the 
castle  were  not  as  interesting  as  the  busy,  narrow 
streets  of  this  great  city.  Osaka  is  the  great  manu- 
facturing and  commercial  center  of  Japan. 

43 


CHAPTER  V. 
The  Educational  System  of  Japan. 

THE  emphasis  which  Japan  is  putting  on  the  edu- 
cation of  her  youth  is  worthy  of  great  praise. 
Every  traveler  is  impressed  by  the  insatiable  thirst  for 
knowledge  which  the  Japanese  manifest  on  every  ac- 
count. The  business  and  professional  men  read  the 
daily  newspapers  just  as  men  in  America.  At  the  rail- 
road stations,  along  with  the  vendor  of  fruits  and 
lunches,  is  the  news  agent  with  his  books  and  period- 
icals. It  is  no  uncommon  thing  to  see  the  jinrikisha 
man  reading  the  morning  or  evening  paper  while  he 
waits  at  his  stand  for  the  call  of  a  customer.  The 
Japanese  are  fast  becoming  a  well-informed  people. 
They  are  mentally  alert,  and  are  never  better  pleased 
than  when  they  are  told  something  new. 

It  is  very  true  that  Japan  is  spending  many  times  as 
much  money  for  her  army  and  navy  as  she  pays  for 
the  education  of  her  youth,  but  what  nation  is  not  do- 
ing the  same  thing?  That  the  teachers  in  her  schools 
are  compelled  to  live  on  small  salaries  while  the  lead- 
ers of  her  fighting  forces  have  munificent  incomes  is 
an  indictment  that  might  be  sustained  against  many 
countries.  But  that  the  country  has  an  excellent 
school  system  no  one  can  doubt.  The  foundations 
of  the  system  were  laid  by  Dr.  G.  F.  Verbeck,  a  mis- 
sionary of  the  Reformed  Church  in  America ;  and 
Dr.  David  Murray,  who  for  several  years  was  Super- 
intendent of  Educational   Affairs,  completed   the  or- 

44 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

ganization  of  the  system  practically  as  it  stands  to- 
day. There  were  teachers  and  schools  before  Dr.  Ver- 
beck,  but  there  was  no  system.  However,  this  early 
education,  especially  among  the  feudal  military  class, 
helped  to  create  a  profound  respect  for  learning,  and 
the  introduction  of  modern  education  by  foreign  ad- 
visers was  easily  accomplished. 

By  an  imperial  decree  regulations  relating  to  uni- 
versities, middle  schools,  and  elementary  schools  were 
promulgated  in  1869.  In  July,  1871,  the  Department 
of  Education  was  established,  and  all  affairs  relating 
to  education  were  brought  under  its  control.  It  issues 
instructions,  approves  and  compiles  text-books,  lays 
down  courses  of  study,  and  prescribes  rules  of  or- 
ganization down  to  the  minutest  details,  both  for  the 
schools  that  are  in  operation  and  for  those  that  are 
considered  necessary  to  complete  the  system.  This 
Department  of  Education  consists  of  the  Minister  of 
Education  (who  has  a  seat  in  the  Cabinet),  the  Vice 
Minister,  and  fifty  or  sixty  officials.  "The  business  of 
the  Department  is  distributed  among  the  Ministers' 
Cabinet  and  the  Bureaus  of  Special  School  Affairs, 
General  School  Affairs,  and  Technical  School  Affairs. 
The  Ministers'  Cabinet  is  divided  into  six  sections, 
each  having  its  appropriate  work — namely,  official 
staff  business,  public  documents,  treasury,  compila- 
tion, architecture,  and  school  hygiene."  The  empire 
is  divided  into  five  districts,  and  to  each  district  is 
assigned  an  inspector  who  is  supposed  to  make  one 
complete  round  each  year,  observe,  and  report  to  the 
Department.  The  Department  also  has  the  assistance 
of  a  Superior  Council  of  Education,  which  was  or- 
ganized in  1896,  and  which  meets  once  a  year  to  dis- 

45 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

cuss  questions  submitted  by  the  Department.  It  has 
sixty  or  seventy  members,  including-  high  officials, 
inspectors,  the  presidents  of  the  imperial  universities, 
the  directors  of  the  most  important  public  and  private 
schools,  and  other  men  of  learning  and  experience  in 
education.  In  tliis  way  the  Department  knows  not 
only  what  is  being  done  but  also  what  the  leading 
educators  of  the  nation  think  should  be  done. 

Besides  the  national  support  which  is  given  to  edu- 
cation, there  is  a  local  support  and  administration. 
The  empire  is  divided  into  forty  districts,  or  states, 
and  each  district  into  smaller  districts,  or  counties, 
and  each  county  into  what  might  be  called  townships. 
With  the  governor  of  a  ken,  or  state,  rests  the  ulti- 
mate right  to  fix  the  number  and  the  location  of 
schools,  to  make  provision  for  their  maintenance,  to 
appoint  the  teachers  and  directors,  subject  to  the  rules 
of  the  Department  of  Education  and  limited  by  the 
willingness  of  the  local  assemblies  to  grant  funds  by 
taxation.  He  acts  directly  with  the  schools  of  the 
middle  grade;  but  in  case  of  elementary  schools  he 
merely  approves  the  decision  of  the  executive  officers 
of  cities,  towns,  counties,  and  townships.  The  state 
and  counties  have  their  inspectors,  as  does  the  De- 
partment. The  affairs  of  the  school  are  administered 
by  a  director,  who  has  complete  control  and  respon- 
sibility and  does  little  or  no  teaching. 

There  are  five  grades  of  schools:  the  ordinary  ele- 
mentary schools,  higher  elementary  schools,  middle 
schools,  high  schools,  and  imperial  universities.  The 
ordinary  elementary  school  covers  four  years,  and  is 
compulsory.  Two  years  of  the  four  of  the  higher 
elementary  schools  are  also  compulsory.     The  middle 

46 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

school  corresponds  to  the  last  year  of  the  American 
grammar  school  and  three  years  of  the  American  high 
school.  The  subjects  taught  are  morals,  Japanese, 
Chinese,  English,  history,  geography,  geometry,  trig- 
onometry, botany,  zoology,  physiology,  physics.  The 
high  school  corresponds  more  nearly  to  the  last  three 
years  of  the  German  gymnasium  or  to  the  last  year  of 
the  American  high  school  and  the  first  two  years  of 
the  American  college.  The  high  school  has  three 
courses  of  study:  one  preparatory  to  the  college  of 
law  and  literature  in  the  imperial  universities,  one  to 
the  college  of  science,  engineering,  pharmacy,  and 
agriculture,  and  one  preparatory  to  the  college  of 
medicine.  It  was  originally  intended  that  the  courses 
in  medicine,  pharmacy,  law,  and  engineering  should 
be  the  prominent  feature  of  these  schools ;  but  the 
general  culture  courses  have  increased  in  popularity, 
and  the  time  for  them  has  been  extended.  In  other 
words,  the  demand  for  general  knowledge  has  given 
the  high  school  more  the  nature  of  the  American  col- 
lege. The  imperial  universities  have  the  departments 
of  law,  medicine,  engineering,  literature,  science,  and 
agriculture.  In  the  Tokyo  University,  in  the  depart- 
ment of  law,  there  are  thirty  professorial  chairs  and 
1,500  pupils;  in  medicine,  28  chairs  and  600  pupils; 
in  engineering,  29  chairs  and  550  pupils ;  in  literature, 
21  chairs  and  500  pupils ;  in  science,  22  chairs,  with 
200  students ;  in  agriculture,  2^  chairs  and  425  stu- 
dents. The  Imperial  University  at  Kioto,  which  is 
only  ten  years  old,  has  1,500  students  and  a  superior 
faculty.  A  third  university  will  soon  be  built  at 
Fukuoka,  where  a  good  school  of  medicine  already 
exists. 

47 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

The  primary  common  school  education  is  practical- 
ly free.  In  the  higher  elementary  school  the  fees  on 
the  average  are  thirteen  cents  a  month;  in  the  middle 
school,  fifty  cents  to  one  dollar  a  month ;  in  the  high 
schools  and  universities,  $12.50  to  $18  a  year. 

A  large  proportion  of  the  teachers  are  men.  Of 
the  70,000  teachers  in  the  ordinary  elementary  schools, 
only  13,000  are  women.  In  the  higher  elementary 
schools  twenty-two  per  cent  are  women.  In  the  mid- 
dle and  high  schools  all  are  men.  In  the  girls'  high 
schools  sixty-five  per  cent  are  women.  In  the  normal 
schools  ten  per  cent  are  women.  When  women  are 
employed,  it  is  largely  for  the  classes  in  sewing  and 
feminine  lore  for  girls.  One  reason  for  this  state  of 
affairs  is  the  backward  condition  of  the  education  of 
women  in  Japan.  Another  is  the  early  marriage, 
which  takes  place  at  about  the  age  of  twenty.  A 
third  may  be  found  in  the  social  conditions,  which 
limit  the  social  relations  between  men  and  women 
and  make  the  employment  of  young  women  in  the 
middle  schools  unadvisable.  But  the  number  of  wom- 
en employed  in  all  the  schools  is  constantly  on  the  in- 
crease. 

The  salaries  of  licensed  teachers  in  the  primary 
grades  fall  between  five  and  fifteen  dollars  a  month, 
while  in  the  grammar  grade  they  fall  between  eight 
and  eighteen  dollars  a  month.  In  the  middle  schools 
the  salaries  range  from  $17.50  a  month  to  $1,000  a 
year,  and  the  average  salary  is  $250  a  year.  In  the 
college  and  university  grade  the  salaries  are  some 
higher,  but  they  do  not  exceed  $1,250  a  year.  The 
President  of  Tokyo  Imperial  University  receives  4,- 
000  yen,  or  $2,000,  a  year;  and  the  sixty-one  highest 

48 


JAPANESE   SCHOOLGIRL  IN  TENNIS   COSTUME. 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

professors  in  that  institution  average  less  than  2,000 
yen,  or  $1,000,  a  year.  But  it  must  be  kept  in  mind 
that  the  cost  of  living  in  Japan  is  much  less  than  in 
America,  and  so  it  may  be  that  the  teachers  are  not 
seriously  underpaid.  However,  the  teacher  in  every 
country  is  the  poorest  paid  of  all  the  public  servants. 

The  school  buildings  are  one-story,  unpainted,  unat- 
tractive wooden  structures.  In  most  places  no  provi- 
sion has  been  made  for  heating  the  rooms  in  winter. 
The  absence  of  fire  is  in  accordance  with  what  the 
children  have  been  accustomed  to  at  home,  as  there 
they  have  no  more  than  the  small  brazier.  But  while 
the  rooms  have  low  ceilings  and  few  decorations,  they 
are  well  lighted  and  well  ventilated.  There  is  always 
a  room  for  the  teachers  when  they  are  off  duty,  a 
room  for  maps,  specimens  of  various  kinds  of  ap- 
paratus, and  offices  for  the  principal  and  his  clerks. 
In  the  higher  schools  there  is  a  visitors'  reception 
room.  Although  the  Japanese  have  no  chairs  in  their 
homes,  they  have  desks  in  their  schools  just  as  other 
people.  The  blackboards,  maps,  globes,  and  charts — 
all  these  school  aids — are  now  made  in  Japan.  Just 
as  in  America,  libraries  are  not  found  in  all  their 
schools;  but  they  are  increasing.  As  yet  there  are 
only  about  one  hundred  public  libraries  in  the  empire. 
School  physicians  inspect  the  buildings  and  the  pupils 
regularly. 

It  was  my  privilege  to  visit  an  elementary  school  in 
one  city.  The  little  buildings  and  the  beautiful  play- 
grounds covered  the  entire  block,  and  all  were  inclosed 
by  a  high  fence.  I  visited  a  girls'  high  school  in  Kobe, 
and  was  surprised  to  find  that  such  excellent  facilities 
had  been  provided.  The  sewing  rooms  in  the  girls' 
4  49 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

school,  with  their  tables  one  foot  high  and  the  girls 
sitting  on  the  floor  at  work,  were  very  interesting. 
Japan  may  not  have  put  up  buildings  like  those  in 
America,  but  the  schools  of  the  country  will  excite 
the  wonder  and  admiration  of  any  person  who  knows 
what  has  been  accomplished  in  the  last  two  decades. 
Not  only  do  the  Japanese  have  these  regular  schools, 
but  they  have  schools  of  commerce,  industrial  schools, 
normal  schools,  and  technical  schools.  The  normal 
school  at  Hiroshima  that  I  visited  is  doing  as  good 
and  thorough  work  as  most  of  the  State  normal 
schools  in  America.  The  commercial  school  at  Kobe, 
with  its  five  hundred  pupils,  might  well  be  copied  by 
Americans.  In  it  are  taught  not  only  the  languages, 
mathematics,  history,  and  geography,  but  the  princi- 
ples of  business  and  the  various  kinds  of  fabrics  and 
raw  materials.  The  museum  is  filled  with  specimens 
of  all  kinds  of  cloth,  ribbons,  wire,  coal,  building  ma- 
terial, and  all  articles  that  are  bought  and  sold.  Two 
Christian  Americans  are  members  of  the  faculty  of 
the  institution. 

The  educational  system  has  an  excellent  foundation. 
That  the  schools  of  Japan  are  as  efficient  as  those  in 
America  could  hardly  be  expected,  but  only  a  few 
years  will  be  required  to  bring  them  to  a  grade  as 
good  as  those  of  any  country.  The  future  defect  of 
the  nation  will  not  be  in  the  schools.  The  whole  coun- 
try is  fast  going  to  the  extreme  of  intellectualism ; 
and  while  morals  are  taught  in  every  grade,  from  the 
first  to  the  last,  in  the  high  schools,  yet  the  danger  is 
in  the  lack  of  spiritual  vitality.  Japan  is  getting  the 
world's  knowledge,  but  her  greatest  need  she  has  not 
yet  realized. 

50 


CHAPTER  VI. 
Mission  Work  in  Japan. 

YISITS  to  Kobe,  Kioto,  Osaka,  and  Hiroshima 
gave  me  some  insight  into  the  work  of  our  mis- 
sion in  Japan.  Of  the  thirty-eight  grown  people  con- 
nected with  our  mission,  I  saw  twenty-one.  It  was 
a  matter  of  sincere  regret  that  I  could  not  accept  the 
invitation  of  Rev.  C.  B.  Moseley  to  visit  Yamaguchi 
and  also  to  spend  some  time  in  the  Matsuyama  Dis- 
trict. But  journeying  editors  who  have  only  a  lim- 
ited time  for  a  visit  to  many  lands  cannot  always  do 
as  they  are  inclined.  However,  I  saw  enough  of  the 
mission  to  appreciate  what  has  been  accomplished  and 
what  is  now  being  done.  Southern  Methodism  has 
not  been  idle  during  its  twenty  years  in  the  Sunrise 
Kingdom,  and  its  contribution  to  the  Christianization 
of  the  country  has  been  entirely  creditable  to  the  de- 
nomination. 

The  delightful  entertainment  in  the  homes  of  Rev. 
Thomas  H.  Haden  and  Rev.  J.  C.  C.  Newton,  D.D., 
on  the  campus  of  the  Kwansei  Gakuin,  gave  me  a 
fine  opportunity  to  investigate  thoroughly  the  work 
and  discover  the  needs  of  that  institution.  A  finer 
location  for  a  school — on  the  slope  of  the  mountain, 
commanding  a  fine  view  of  the  great  Kobe  harbor — 
could  hardly  be  imagined.  The  imperial  government 
showed  its  appreciation  of  the  location  by  building 
its  great  Higher  Commercial  College  on  the  adjoining 
lots.     The  very  fact  of  this  government  school  being 

51 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

a  neighbor  has  not  only  increased  tlie  value  of  our 
property,  but  it  has  given  our  institution  a  prominence 
in  the  eye  of  the  public  authorities ;  and  at  the  same 
time  it  has  provided  our  teachers  with  an  excellent 
opportunity  to  touch  with  religious  instruction  some 
of  the  brightest  young  men  in  Japan.  Prof.  W.  K. 
Matthews,  of  the  Kwansei  Gakuin,  has  a  large  Bible 
class  composed  of  the  students  in  the  Commercial 
College.  Our  teachers  are  often  invited  to  lecture  to 
the  five  hundred  students  of  that  institution  in  their 
fine  auditorium.  But  the  very  proximity  of  our  school 
to  this  makes  it  imperative  that  the  work  done  by 
our  institution  be  of  the  highest  order.  Shoddy  work 
in  mission  schools  in  Japan  now  means  their  retire- 
ment ;  for  if  there  is  anything  of  which  a  Japanese  is 
judge,  it  is  a  school.  As  a  result  of  that  fact,  many 
missions  have  been  compelled  to  erect  new  and  more 
commodious  buildings  and  equip  them  with  libraries 
and  apparatus  of  the  very  latest  and  best  kind.  Where 
the  Churches  in  America  have  failed  to  understand 
these  conditions,  a  crisis  in  the  work  of  their  missions 
has  been  almost  certain. 

When  I  stood  before  the  two  hundred  boys  in  the 
chapel  of  the  Kwansei  Gakuin  and  saw  the  earnest, 
honest  look  on  their  faces,  I  felt  that  I  was  in  Bell- 
buckle  or  Spring  Hill.  Dr.  Y.  Yoshioka,  the  Presi- 
dent, introduced  me,  and  I  tried  to  say  some  honest 
word  to  those  fine  young  men.  I  spoke  rather  seri- 
ously, because  speaking  through  an  interpreter  is  seri- 
ous business.  But  Prof.  H.  Yoshizaki  was  very  faith- 
ful in  translating  into  the  vernacular  the  short  talk  of 
the  visitor.  It  is  a  matter  of  regret  that  we  have  not 
a  college  to  which  our  young  men  can  go  after  they 

52 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

complete  the  course  in  the  Kwansei  Gakuin;  but  col- 
leges are  expensive  in  America,  and  cannot  be  support- 
ed without  an  endowment.  Yet  with  some  teachers 
supported  by  the  Board  of  Missions  it  would  be  en- 
tirely possible  to  maintain  a  very  satisfactory  college 
in  Kobe.    I  believe  that  it  should  be  done. 

Dr.  J.  C.  C.  Newton,  the  Dean  of  the  Theological 
Seminary,  says  that  he  needs  a  new  building  for  his 
work,  and  he  is  right.  At  present  the  seminary  is 
conducted  in  the  Kwansei  Gakuin.  He  needs  not  only 
a  building,  but  an  equipment  of  a  library,  maps,  and 
charts.  The  preachers  who  are  eventually  to  evan- 
gelize Japan  must  be  made  in  Japan  and  out  of  Jap- 
anese young  men.  The  missionary  is  always  a  for- 
eigner, and  can  never  appeal  to  a  Japanese  audience 
with  the  same  force  as  a  native.  In  the  first  place, 
the  language  is  in  the  way;  and  in  the  second  place, 
the  whole  temper  of  an  Anglo-Saxon  is  diflferent  from 
that  of  an  Oriental.  Then  the  young  men  should  be 
trained  in  Japan  because  when  they  are  sent  to  Amer- 
ica they  find  new  conditions  and  they  are  compelled 
to  learn  too  many  things  that  a  Japanese  preacher 
does  not  need  to  know.  Frequently  a  Japanese  in 
America  is  taught  away  from  his  people  instead  of 
being  trained  for  them.  A  theological  school  in  Amer- 
ica exists  to  train  men  for  the  American  pulpit  and 
for  American  audiences.  The  Japanese  preacher  is 
to  be  prepared  for  a  wholly  different  work,  and  can- 
not get  in  an  American  theological  seminary  what  he 
really  needs  as  a  preacher  for  his  own  people.  The 
cases  are  not  infrequent  where  young  Japanese  have 
returned  to  their  country  more  interested  in  Greek 
roots,  Hebrew  consonants.  Old  Testament  criticism, 

53 


ETCHINGSOF     THE     EAST 

or  New  Testament  introduction  than  in  the  evangeli- 
zation of  their  own  lost  nation.  Japan  needs  evan- 
gelists and  not  critics,  preachers  of  the  gospel  and  not 
lecturers  on  archaeology.  The  danger  of  the  Chris- 
tian ministry  of  Japan  is  just  here.  The  foreign- 
trained  professors  of  theology  are  too  apt  to  em- 
phasize the  things  that  belong  to  scholarship  instead 
of  that  which  equips  men  for  effective,  practical  serv- 
ice in  the  ministry.  The  preacher,  the  evangelist,  the 
man  who  knows  the  richness  of  the  Christian  faith 
and  experience  is  the  need  of  the  hour  in  Japan. 
Shall  we  not  equip  such  men  for  this  ripening  field  ? 

This  does  not  mean  that  we  are  to  lower  the  grade 
of  scholarship  in  a  Japanese  theological  school.  That 
procedure  on  the  part  of  the  Church  would  be  sui- 
cidal, for  Japanese  ministers  have  that  insatiable  thirst 
for  knowledge  which  is  characteristic  of  their  people. 
The  Oriental  mind  is  philosophical  in  its  bent,  and  its 
eternal  "why"  must  be  satisfied  before  there  is  a 
possibility  of  advance.  But  the  minister  in  every 
nation  must  feel  the  burden  of  responsibility  for  the 
practical  soul  life  of  his  people,  and  men  who  have 
accepted  Christianity  first  intellectually  must  be  con- 
stantly taught  the  importance  and  the  method  of  prac- 
tical evangelism.  A  Japanese  ministry  thoroughly 
equipped — practically  as  well  as  theologically — in 
Kobe  would  become  a  mighty  force  in  the  Christiani- 
zation  of  that  rich  and  most  populous  section  of  Japan. 
Only  $io,CX)0  would  give  the  institution  an  equipment 
which  would  put  it  in  position  to  do  the  work  which 
is  so  urgently  needed.  Is  there  not  some  man  or  some 
woman  or  some  family  that  will  give  that  $10,000 
and  build  a  memorial  to  themselves  or  some  loved 

54 


ETCHINGS     uF     THE     EAST 

one?  The  institution  might  well  take  the  name  of 
such  a  donor.  Dr.  W.  R.  Lambuth  will  be  glad  to 
furnish  any  information  regarding  the  school  and  to 
confer  about  any  gift  for  its  further  establishment. 

Palmore  Institute  has  done  a  wonderful  work  in 
Kobe.  That  prince  of  travelers,  the  big-souled  editor 
of  the  St.  Louis  Christian  Advocate,  who  is  always 
full  of  suggestions  for  the  furtherance  of  the  king- 
dom of  God,  saw  an  opportunity  for  a  great  mission- 
ary night  school  in  Kobe.  He  gave  some  books  for 
a  library  and  the  missionary  authorities  gave  the  name, 
and  Palmore  Institute  began  its  career.  No  more 
effective  missionary  agency  has  operated  in  Kobe 
than  this  night  school  which  has  been  conducted  for 
many  years  in  some  convenient  building  near  the  cen- 
ter of  the  city.  The  Board  of  Missions  has  recently 
bought  the  home  in  which  Dr.  J.  W.  Lambuth  first 
lived  and  taught  when  he  opened  the  Japanese  Mis- 
sion, and  on  that  same  lot  the  first  permanent  home 
for  the  Palmore  Institute  is  now  in  course  of  erec- 
tion. The  location  is  central  and  not  far  from  our 
Central  Church.  Rev.  S.  A.  Stewart,  the  principal, 
is  superintending  the  work  on  the  building  in  the  day- 
time, and  at  night  he  conducts  the  classes  for  the 
Institute  in  the  Memorial  Bible  School  for  the  one 
hundred  students  from  the  business  men  of  Kobe. 
The  tuition  fees  pay  the  running  expenses  of  the  in- 
stitution. 

Lambuth  Memorial  Bible  School  is  doing  excellent 
work  in  training  Bible  women.  Miss  Maud  Bonnell, 
with  Miss  Garner,  Miss  Spivey,  and  Miss  Blount,  will 
see  that  women  who  leave  that  institution  are  well 
equipped  for  their  important  work.    The  teachers  and 

55 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

the  young  women  who  are  being  trained  have  mothers' 
meetings,  cooking  classes  for  the  women  of  the  city, 
and  conduct  three  Sunday  schools.  While  mission- 
aries are  being  prepared,  missions  are  being  con- 
ducted. 

A  gentleman  in  Tokyo  said  to  me :  "The  greatest 
school  for  girls  in  Japan  is  in  Hiroshima."  When 
Miss  Gaines  introduced  me  to  her  five  hundred  girls 
that  morning  in  the  chapel  after  I  had  been  shown 
something  of  the  work  which  the  school  was  doing, 
I  was  fully  convinced  that  the  gentleman  in  Tokyo 
was  at  least  not  far  wrong.  In  the  three  kindergar- 
tens Miss  Cook,  the~  superintendent,  reported  an  en- 
rollment last  year  of  more  than  two  hundred  chil- 
dren. About  seven  hundred  girls  touched  by  this 
school  every  year  is  a  record  of  which  Southern 
Methodism  may  well  be  proud.  The  new  building, 
with  its  spacious  class  rooms  and  commodious  chapel, 
did  not  come  too  soon ;  and  it  has  been  of  inestimable 
value  in  holding  the  golden  opinion  of  the  community. 
But  the  building  is  now  full  to  the  limit.  The  insti- 
tution needs  the  full  block  of  ground,  and  the  wise 
Secretaries  will  surely  secure  the  extra  quarter  as 
soon  as  it  is  offered  for  sale.  The  school  must  have 
the  government  recognition  of  its  Teachers'  Training 
Department  if  it  is  to  attract  the  class  of  women  who 
wish  to  teach.  The  fine  normal  school  in  Hiroshima 
makes  the  recognition  doubly  important.  The  Boards 
at  home  should  not  withhold  any  support  which  the 
Principal  finds  is  necessary  to  secure  this  recognition. 
A  school  that  has  made  the  record  among  the  young 
women  of  Japan  that  the  Hiroshima  Girls'  School 
has  made  should  be  kept  at  the  very  highest  point  of 

56 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

efficiency.  The  Mission  Boards  may  not  be  able  to 
maintain  many  schools  in  Japan,  but  those  that  they 
do  maintain  must  be  of  the  highest  rank.  The  Kobe 
College  of  the  Congregational  Church  has  seen  this, 
and  has  recently  put  up  one  of  the  finest  school  build- 
ings in  Japan. 

Rev.  W.  J.  Callahan  and  his  cultivated  wife  made 
my  stay  in  their  home  exceedingly  pleasant.  I  was 
given  an  opportunity  to  visit  the  beautiful  garden  of 
the  old  daimyo  (which  is  one  of  the  attractions  of 
Japan),  the  new  Buddhist  temple  which  is  being  built, 
the  Imperial  Normal  School,  and  the  Fraser  Insti- 
tute (which  has  just  been  built  by  Mr.  H.  W.  Fraser, 
of  High  Point,  N.  C,  at  a  cost  of  $3,800).  I  spoke 
to  a  company  of  fifty  men  in  the  night  school.  I  saw 
the  old  church  and  the  lot  on  which  the  new  church 
is  to  be  built.  I  saw  the  cooking  class,  composed  of 
the  wives  of  some  of  the  leading  men  in  Hiroshima, 
which  Mrs.  Callahan  has  in  her  home  once  a  week. 
In  Kioto  I  visited  the  temporary  church  building  and 
the  fine  lot  on  which  a  new  church,  to  cost  $6,000  to 
$7,000,  is  to  be  built.  That  church  is  greatly  needed, 
and  Rev.  W.  A.  Davis,  who  is  now  in  America,  should 
be  heard  gladly  for  that  cause.  Buddhism  has  its 
great  stronghold  in  Kioto,  and  the  proposed  building 
is  absolutely  necessary  to  the  prosecution  of  the  work 
which  has  been  so  auspiciously  begun.  Rev.  Mr.  Ta- 
naka  is  doing  a  fine  work  for  his  people  in  Kioto. 
Some  Church  in  the  South  might  assume  the  whole 
responsibility  for  building  that  church  just  as  the 
Church  in  Danville,  Va.,  under  the  pastorate  of  Rev. 
E.  H.  Rawlings,  assumed  the  entire  responsibility  for 
the  new  church  in  Osaka.     By  the  way,  those  Dan- 

57 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

ville  Methodists  should  know  that  the  lot  on  which 
their  church  is  to  be  built  is  one  of  the  finest  in  the 
most  enterprising  city  in  Japan.  When  I  fully  real- 
ized what  those  Danvillians  were  doing,  I  lifted  my 
hat  and  said  to  Rev.  W.  R.  Weakley:  "No  Church 
in  America  could  have  done  a  nobler  thing  than  to 
build  this  West  Osaka  Church."  Has  Richmond, 
Norfolk,  Lynchburg,  Atlanta,  Louisville,  Memphis, 
St.  Louis,  or  some  other  city  a  Church  that  will  do 
for  Kioto  what  Danville  has  done  for  Osaka?  Write 
to  Dr.  Lambuth  about  it,  and  cheer  him  and  the  mis- 
sionary in  charge  by  telling  them  that  the  new  church 
will  be  provided  for. 

I  must  mention  the  meeting  with  some  Japanese 
laymen  of  Kobe.  They  are  planning  a  new  and  more 
commodious  church  house.  A  good  list  of  subscrip- 
tions has  already  been  made.  One  man,  Mr.  Naka- 
mura,  the  Sunday  school  superintendent,  has  sub- 
scribed I, GOO  yen,  or  $500.  I  was  greatly  impressed 
by  the  interest  and  affection  with  which  they  spoke 
of  their  church.  I  must  mention  the  fine  evangelistic 
work  which  is  being  done  by  Rev.  M.  Akazawa  in 
Osaka.  The  friends  who  assisted  him  in  America  will 
not  have  any  cause  for  regret.  Rev.  M.  Matsumoto 
is  almost  indispensable  to  the  work  in  the  Theological 
Seminary.  Yet  he  is  such  an  excellent  evangelical 
preacher  that  I  would  almost  covet  him  for  the  pas- 
torate. He  fits  well  anywhere.  Rev.  K.  Mito  is  a 
superior  leader  in  the  Sunday  school  work.  Let  me 
say  here  that  Dr.  and  Mrs.  H.  M.  Hamill  have  been 
well  received  and  highly  appreciated  throughout 
Japan.  The  Sunday  school  interests  will  be  greatly 
advanced  by  their  visit.     I  regretted  that  I  did  not 

58 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

see  Rev.  J.  T.  Meyers,  the  presiding  elder  at  Hiro- 
shima, but  he  and  Professor  Nishimiira  were  in  the 
midst  of  a  great  revival  among  the  Japanese  in 
Wonsan,  Korea.  They  were  preaching  to  audiences 
of  several  hundred  and  having  conversions  at  every 
service.  Of  the  work  of  Messrs.  Moseley,  Waters, 
Demaree,  and  Wilson  I  had  excellent  reports.  How 
gladly  would  I  have  spent  a  fortnight  with  them ! 
The  footprints  of  Dr.  Wainright  and  of  Rev.  W.  E. 
Towson  are  seen  in  many  places.  Their  labors  in 
Japan  will  not  soon  be  forgotten. 

Missionary  work  in  Japan  was  never  so  essential 
to  the  salvation  of  that  sprightly  people  as  it  is  to- 
day. In  many  ways  the  missionary  work  there  was 
never  quite  so  difficult  and  so  delicate  as  now.  The 
Japanese  in  their  coming  to  themselves  politically 
and  commercially  may  be  inclined  to  be  a  bit  heady 
ecclesiastically,  but  that  will  not  give  genuine  Chris- 
tian men  and  women,  apostles  of  the  gospel  of  the 
cross,  any  reason  for  decreasing  their  efforts.  The 
boy  as  he  verges  into  manhood  is  apt  to  show  an 
inclination  to  throw  off  parental  authority  and  de- 
cline parental  advice,  but  the  wise  father  and  mother 
do  not  because  of  this  withdraw  their  help  and  coun- 
sel from  him.  The  Japanese  are  not  children ;  but 
they  have  not  reached  their  religious  majority,  wheth- 
er they  know  it  or  not.  The  great  body  of  their  peo- 
ple have  never  been  touched  by  Christianity,  and  nev- 
er will  be  if  the  weak  Japanese  Christian  Churches 
are  compelled  to  carry  on  alone  the  work  of  evan- 
gelizing their  nation.  The  Churches  of  America  and 
Europe  may  be  compelled  to  surrender  their  eccle- 
siasticism  in  Japan;  but  if  they  cannot  learn  to  be 

59 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

missionaries  without  being  ecclesiastics,  the  future  of 
Japanese  Christianity  will  be  distressingly  uncertain. 
The  call  of  the  empire  for  missionaries  of  the  type  of 
St.  Paul,  who  would  be  "all  things  to  all  men  to  win 
some,"  was  never  so  great  as  to-day;  and  fortunate 
indeed  is  the  Church  that  can  send  them. 

Methodism  in  America  has  not  lost  a  mission  by 
the  organization  of  a  Methodist  Church  in  Japan. 
Have  not  the  missionary  Conferences  been  discussing 
the  question  of  self-support  for  a  decade?  Then  why 
doubt  the  wisdom  of  organizing  a  native  Church 
among  a  people  whose  ability  for  organization  and 
leadership  is  recognized  by  all  who  know  them?  The 
organization  of  a  native  Church  came  earlier  than  it 
would  otherwise  have  come  had  there  not  been  a 
manifest  need  of  a  United  Methodism  in  this  country. 
Southern  Methodists,  Northern  Methodists,  and  Ca- 
nadian Methodists  are  divisions  which  do  not  properly 
exist  in  a  foreign  land.  So  union  was  inevitable 
among  a  body  of  Christians  who  had  no  reason  for 
being  separate  and  every  reason  for  being  united. 
The  desire  for  a  Japanese  Church  did  not  grow  out 
of  the  ambition  to  control  so  much  as  out  of  the  nat- 
ural wish  for  union.  If  the  Japanese  had  the  unholy 
ambition  to  take  matters  into  their  own  hands  and 
exclude  foreigners  from  the  controlling  body,  then 
the  need  for  further  missionary  work  is  very  mani- 
fest. 

The  Methodist  Church  of  Japan  was  organized  last 
May  by  the  authority  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South,  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and 
the  Methodist  Church  of  Canada.  The  commission- 
ers from  these  Churclies  were  present  and  had  much 

60 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

to  do  in  forming  the  policy  of  the  new  Church.  Dr. 
Y.  Honda  was  elected  general  superintendent,  and 
the  Methodism  of  the  Island  Empire  was  given  an 
autonomy.  Who  would  suppose  that  such  action  could 
be  taken  without  there  being  the  necessity  for  many 
readjustments?  The  Mission  Boards  in  America  still 
hold  their  properties  and  control  as  well  as  support 
their  missionaries.  Complications  under  such  condi- 
tions are  almost  inevitable,  but  surely  the  spirit  of 
Christ  will  bring  a  satisfactory  adjustment.  Human 
nature,  whether  American  or  Japanese,  whether  cler- 
ical or  lay,  here  as  elsewhere  may  become  quite  re- 
bellious and  self-assertive  if  it  is  not  divinely  con- 
trolled. The  saints  are  not  all  of  one  race,  and  not 
all  of  one  race  are  saints.  The  Christian  spirit  will 
bring  unity  and  articulation  in  all  the  Japanese  work, 
but  not  in  one  year  or  two  years.  Adjustments  re- 
quire time  when  strong-willed  men  are  to  be  handled ; 
but  they  will  come  if  all  parties  will  let  the  spirit  of 
the  Master  teach,  guide,  and  control. 

That  man  who  thinks  that  Southern  Methodism 
has  lost  her  mission  in  Japan  because  a  Japanese 
Church  has  been  organized  surely  has  not  deeply  con- 
sidered the  conditions  that  exist.  The  day  of  count- 
ing converts  may  have  passed;  but  shall  a  nation  of 
48,ooo,ocx)  people,  of  whom  only  65,C)(X)  are  Christians, 
be  left  in  heathenism  because  a  body  of  Christian  men, 
acting  according  to  their  best  wisdom,  form  a  Church 
in  which  there  is  unity  and  self-government  ?  The 
nation  is  going  mad  on  intellectualism.  The  great 
school  system  will  in  a  few  years  drive  away  the 
superstitions  of  the  temples.  Shintoism  can  have  no 
power  as  a  religion  with  an  intelligent  people.     Bud- 

61 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

dhism  has  no  message  for  the  spiritual  life.  Science 
and  philosophy  will  undermine  with  the  intelligent 
people  the  religions  of  the  nation.  The  two  horns 
of  the  dilemma  in  two  decades  or  less  time  with  the 
vast  numbers  of  the  Japanese  will  be  Christianity  or 
agnosticism.  Shall  Christian  nations  open  the  way 
for  learning  and  commercial  ascendency,  and  then 
decline  to  keep  burning  the  light  of  eternal  truth? 
The  religious  conditions  of  Japan  cannot  remain  as 
they  are  if  this  people  is  to  establish  and  maintain  a 
genuine,  noble  character. 

Who  does  not  know  that  the  social  life  of  Japan  is 
woefully  immoral?  The  divorces  are  so  numerous  as 
to  make  one  almost  ask,  "Why  have  marriages  at  all  ?" 
Such  a  condition  exists  among  the  nonreligious  ele- 
ments of  American  society.  If  social  inconstancy  is 
common  among  many  Americans  whose  lives  have 
been  built  on  a  Christian  basis,  what  is  to  be  expected 
among  a  non-Christian  people?  The  Japanese  trader 
does  not  know  the  binding  force  of  a  contract.  His 
whole  life  and  character  have  been  built  on  a  religious 
basis  which  does  not  regard  social  or  commercial  in- 
tegrity as  essential  to  proper  conduct.  Only  Chris- 
tianity can  correct  such  grievous  crookedness  in  the 
lives  of  any  people,  however  brilliant  and  however 
powerful  they  may  otherwise  be.  The  obligations 
upon  the  Churches  to  send  missionaries  can  never  be 
discharged  until  the  evil  things  that  are  correctly 
charged  against  Japanese  character  have  been  re- 
moved. 

Japan  is  awake,  and  her  people  are  alive.  They 
have  appreciated  learning,  and  are  seeking  it.  They 
have  found  the  value  of  commerce,  and  they  are  using 

62 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

it.  They  will  adopt  the  things  that  will  make  them 
strong.  They  can  see  the  worth  and  truth  of  Chris- 
tianity; and  when  they  do,  they  wiir  accept  it.  But 
a  man  cannot  change  his  religion  as  easily  as  he  does 
the  style  of  his  shirt  or  the  architecture  of  his  house. 
Religion  deals  with  the  inner  nature,  and  time  is  nec- 
essary to  bring  about  the  desired  results.  No  nation 
can  be  made  Christian  in  a  day.  The  work  done  so 
far  is  magnificent,  but  the  day  has  only  dawned.  The 
Japanese  are  intensely  patriotic,  for  which  they  should 
be  honored ;  but  their  patriotism  centers  in  a  religious 
system  of  which  the  Emperor  is  the  head.  Keeping 
alive  their  patriotism  may  keep  alive  their  Shintoism. 
Then  Buddhism  is  awakening  and  offering  opposi- 
tion to  Christianity.  New  temples  are  being  built 
and  new  schools  established.  Christianity  must  win 
its  way  by  strenuous  efforts,  and  the  Churches  at 
home  must  help  as  never  before.  Christianity  can 
enter  with  enlightenment,  while  superstition  must  re- 
tire. With  the  opening  of  Japan  to  the  light  of  civ- 
ilization there  comes  to  Christianity  the  greatest  op- 
portunity in  its  history.  My  plea  to  all  Boards  of 
Missions  is  to  increase  the  evangelical  forces  which 
they  are  sending  to  Japan.  The  day  of  the  medical 
missionary  in  Japan  has  passed,  as  the  schools  of  medi- 
cine in  that  country  are  sending  out  well-equipped 
physicians,  and  the  cities  are  building  hospitals  as 
fast  as  they  will  be  used.  The  teacher  is  not  needed 
so  much,  as  the  colleges  and  universities  are  gradu- 
ating men  continually  who  are  thoroughly  capable 
of  teaching  in  any  institution.  But  the  preacher  with 
the  message  of  life  has  a  high  mission.  The  emphasis 
in  some  missions  may  be  put  on  the  school  or  the  hos- 

63 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

pital,  but  in  Japan  it  must  be  put  on  the  evangelical 
work.  The  Sunday  school  is  soon  to  be  the  highest 
agency  for  missionary  work  in  Japan.  The  children 
may  be  collected  any  Sunday  in  large  numbers,  and 
Bible  schools  may  be  promptly  organized  and  con- 
ducted. The  little  ones  may  yet  lead  the  nation  into 
Christianity.  The  great  work  of  missions  has  just  be- 
gun in  the  little  land  beyond  the  sea. 

64 


CHAPTER  VII. 
Taking  Leave  of  Japan. 

JAPAN  is  a  land  of  beauty.  Its  outside  may  be 
seen  in  a  few  weeks ;  but  its  spirit,  its  thought,  its 
purpose,  its  possibihties  can  be  known  in  part  only 
after  long  months  of  observation  and  study.  The  lit- 
tle nation  has  already  surprised  the  world  by  its 
sprightliness,  its  resourcefulness,  and  its  powers  of 
endurance.  Its  victory  over  China  in  1895  was  un- 
expected, and  its  complete  rout  of  Russia  in  1905 
was  a  world  marvel.  Up  to  that  time  the  best  stu- 
dents had  not  known  of  the  intense  patriotism  of  the 
Japanese,  while  the  great  body  of  intelligent  people 
did  not  realize  that  Japan  harbored  the  thought  that 
the  big  bear  had  taken  from  them  what  was  rightfully 
their  own  in  Manchuria.  Just  as  the  children  of  Ger- 
many had  been  taught  that  Alsace-Lorraine  belonged 
to  them,  so  the  youth  of  Japan  had  been  taught  that 
Port  Arthur  was  theirs  and  eventually  they  must  take 
it  or  die  in  the  attempt.  The  Japanese  will  not  suffer 
an  indignity,  and  they  are  as  sensitive  to  an  insult  as 
a  Kentuckian, 

That  the  Japanese  want  to  control  the  commerce 
of  the  Orient,  no  one  who  has  given  the  matter  any 
thought  can  question.  There  are  other  nations  that 
would  like  to  do  the  same  thing.  But  Japan  has  gone 
to  work  in  earnest,  and  other  nations  are  alarmed. 
Korea  is  under  her  control.  More  than  200,000  Jap- 
anese are  already  in  Korea.  Every  new  enterprise  in 
6  65 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

Korea  is  owned  by  the  Japanese.  The  railroads  are 
owned  and  controlled  by  them.  The  towns  which  they 
control  are  being  cleaned  just  as  the  towns  and  cities 
of  Cuba  were  cleaned  by  the  United  States.  The  fact 
is,  Japan  is  beginning  to  do  for  Korea  what  the 
United  States  did  for  Cuba,  whatever  may  be  her  mo- 
tive. If  Japan  continues  her  work  in  Korea  for  ten 
years,  a  wonderful  change  for  good  will  take  place. 
But  who  knows  what  is  Japan's  plan  in  Korea?  The 
little  man  is  silent  here,  as  he  was  when  the  newspaper 
correspondents  sought  his  plans  in  the  war  with  Rus- 
sia. Some  correspondents  are  mad  with  Japan  yet 
because  they  were  not  allowed  to  plan  the  battles  and 
report  them  before  they  took  place.  What  is  Japan's 
plan  in  Manchuria?  The  little  man  is  silent.  But 
he  believes  that  he  won  something  in  Manchuria  in 
1905  which  has  not  been  deeded  to  him.  It  may  be 
that  he  is  taking  possession  of  what  he  thinks  is  al- 
ready his  own. 

The  war  debt  made  in  1895  was  hardly  settled  un- 
til the  enormous  burden  of  1905  was  laid  on  the  little 
people.  The  knowing  men  were  saying  that  Japan  was 
staggering  under  her  debt,  and  that  she  must  rest.  But 
the  military  and  naval  enlargements  continued.  The 
railroads  were  bought.  Great  public  buildings  were 
planned.  A  great  merchant  marine  was  built.  The 
whole  Eastern  sea  is  covered  with  the  flag  of  the  ris- 
ing sun.  The  Eastern  steamship  companies  are  say- 
ing: "The  Japanese  are  taking  our  trade."  The  In- 
land Sea  is  theirs.  The  traffic  in  China  Sea  down  to 
Hongkong  and  on  to  Singapore  is  fast  going  to  Japan. 
The  Yang-tse  River  is  carrying  Japanese  boats  up  to 
Hankow,  at  the  heart  of  China.    Good  lines  of  steam- 

66 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

ers  are  on  the  Pacific  and  the  Indian  Oceans.  The 
government  saw  that  the  hope  of  building  up  a  mer- 
chant marine  was  in  subsidizing  her  ship  companies. 
The  subsidies  are  such  that  no  companies  can  com- 
pete with  the  Japanese  ships.  The  wise  men  are  say- 
ing a  financial  crisis  in  Japan  is  sure  to  come  in  the 
near  future.  But  the  silent  man  continues  his  enter- 
prises and  somehow  keeps  up  his  credit.  It  does  seem 
that  the  ambition  to  control  the  commerce  of  the  East, 
if  that  is  his  ambition,  has  some  show  of  being  satis- 
fied. At  any  rate,  the  Japanese  is  the  liveliest  man 
in  the  Orient,  and  laziness  has  no  place  in  his  consti- 
tution. He  has  done  so  many  unusual  things  that 
China  has  begun  to  take  notice.  He  excites  my  won- 
der, but  I  do  not  understand  him.  I  have  no  prophecy 
for  his  future. 

After  seeing  the  enterprise  of  the  Japanese  upon 
the  land  and  upon  the  sea,  after  examining  his  supe- 
rior educational  system  and  learning  something  of  his 
insatiable  thirst  for  knowledge,  I  am  more  and  more 
astounded  at  his  religious  observances.  The  visit  to 
the  Asakusa  Temple,  in  Tokyo,  where  the  worshipers 
swarmed,  gave  me  some  idea  of  their  crudity  of  reli- 
gious ideas.  This  is  one  of  the  most  largely  patron- 
ized temples  in  the  empire.  The  worshipers  went  into 
the  temple,  bowed  down  at  an  altar  place,  threw  their 
coins  into  a  large  place  with  a  rough  grating,  then 
clapped  their  hands  twice  and  muttered  something. 
The  priests  are  ignorant,  not  respected,  and  incapable 
of  delivering  a  message.  Shintoism  has  no  preachers. 
Some  worshipers  bought  sticks  of  incense  and  burned 
them.  Others  bought  grains  to  feed  the  pigeons  that 
they  considered  sacred.     In  this  temple  was  an  image 

67 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

which  was  rubbed  by  the  hand,  and  the  worshiper 
rubbed  that  part  of  the  body  where  she  had  a  pain  or 
infirmity.  The  head  and  stomach  of  the  poor  image 
showed  signs  of  much  wear.  In  Osaka  I  saw  an  old 
woman  fishing  out  of  a  pool  on  a  stone  turtle's  back 
a  piece  of  paper  on  which  a  prayer  was  written.  The 
water  in  the  pool  flowed  from  a  fountain  that  had  a 
stone  turtle's  mouth  for  a  spout.  In  Kobe,  on  the 
mountain  side,  I  saw  a  waterfall  in  front  of  a  little 
temple  in  which  the  image  was  that  of  a  fox,  under 
which  worshipers  would  stand  undressed  in  the  dead 
of  winter.  Who  would  expect  such  superstition  in 
such  an  intelligent  country  as  Japan?  Even  the  Bud- 
dhist temples,  with  all  their  magnificence  in  some 
cities,  have  nothing  that  would  satisfy,  it  would  seem, 
a  people  that  studied  science,  built  merchant  marines, 
and  exhibited  such  force  in  battle  and  in  commerce. 
Surely  Japan  is  in  the  dawn  of  a  new  day.  What 
will  the  Christian  nations  say  to  this  new  sister  of 
such  rare  promise?  Has  Christianity  taught  her  na- 
tions how  to  act  toward  the  self-centered,  vainglorious, 
yet  precocious  and  promising  young  maiden  who  is 
born  of  non-Christian  ancestry?  These  are  days  of 
questionings  in  the  Orient,  but  the  man  who  can  fur- 
nish information  that  really  informs  has  not  been 
found.  The  only  man  who  knows  much  about  the 
trend  of  things  is  the  newspaper  reporter,  who  gives 
to  the  reader  what  he  wants.  The  American  will 
often  find  his  newspaper  very  comforting. 

I  regret  that  I  could  not  remain  in  Japan  to  see  the 
cherry  blossoms,  the  pride  of  the  Japanese.  But  had 
I  seen  them,  I  would  not  have  been  satisfied,  because 
I  could  not  see  the  chrysanthemums.     However,   I 

68 


STROLL   EY   THE  LAKE. 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

saw  some  plum  blossoms.  They  were  beautiful.  But 
Japan  to  me  was  all  beautiful.  The  women  were 
beautiful,  to  be  sure — a  la  Japanese.  The  jinrikisha 
boys  excited  my  admiration.  The  farmers  delighted 
me.  The  farms  were  no  larger  than  the  average 
American  garden,  but  they  were  highly  cultivated. 
The  soil  of  Japan  is,  of  course,  poor.  Even  if  it  were 
originally  rich,  it  would  have  been  worn  out  a  thou- 
sand years  ago.  So  the  fertilizer  is  a  necessity.  The 
offal  from  the  barn  and  the  home  is  the  chief  fer- 
tilizer. With  the  seed  it  is  poured  into  every  row. 
The  farmer,  with  his  two  buckets  on  a  bamboo  pole, 
irrigates  and  fertilizes  continually.  He  cultivates  well 
all  his  crops.  He  even  hoes  his  wheat.  He  plows  one 
cow.  His  plow  has  one  handle,  and  is  used  only  in 
breaking  the  land.  The  little  farms  are  separated  by 
a  lane  of  grass  ten  to  twelve  inches  wide.  Some  of 
them  are  bedded  so  as  to  be  a  foot  or  more  higher 
than  those  adjoining.  The  hillsides  are  terraced  as 
far  up  as  the  soil  can  be  used.  So  the  whole  country 
has  the  appearance  of  a  large  number  of  gardens. 
Why  should  not  such  a  country  be  beautiful? 

I  saw  no  idlers  in  Japan  and  very  few  beggars.  It 
is  true  the  carpenter  pulled  his  plane  and  his  saw,  but 
he  did  his  work.  The  tailor  held  his  cloth  between 
his  toes,  but  that  made  him  only  the  more  skillful. 
The  sign  painter  hung  up  his  sign  in  English  as  "The 
Sign  Boarder,"  but  he  showed  enterprise.  The  mer- 
chant said  that  he  sold  "Boots,  Shoes  &  Co."  The 
English  may  not  have  been  elegant,  but  it  was  prac- 
tical. The  people  who  sold  and  the  people  who 
bought  do  not  expect  to  abide  by  the  list  price.  The 
story  is  told  that  when  the  railroad  came  an  old  man 

69  . 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

aske-d  the  ticket  agent  the  price  of  a  ticket  from 
Osaka  to  Kobe.  When  the  price  was  given,  he  asked 
for  a  reduction;  and  when  it  was  denied  him,  he  de- 
clined to  buy,  but  took  his  seat  until  the  time  for  the 
next  train.  As  the  trains  went  every  hour,  he  repeat- 
ed his  action  every  hour  until  the  end  of  the  day,  and 
then  bought  his  ticket.  But  of  course  the  leading 
merchants  have  adopted  the  custom  of  the  one  price. 
But  whatever  may  be  the  faults  found  with  the  peo- 
ple as  a  whole  or  with  a  certain  few,  there  are  in 
every  community  men  of  sterling  integrity  in  business 
and  in  all  the  activities  of  life.  The  number  of  gen- 
uinely true  men  in  Japan  is  constantly  growing;  and 
with  the  growth  of  a  true  Christianity  there  will  come 
the  growth  of  a  strong,  noble  national  character. 

But  good-bys  must  be  said.  Not  only  was  Japan 
fair  to  look  upon,  but  the  friends  that  we  met  made 
the  going  like  a  home-leaving.  First  there  was  that 
home  in  Tokyo  with  Rev.  and  Mrs.  D.  S.  Spencer 
and  the  kindly  attention  of  Miss  S.  J.  Vain.  In  Osaka 
Rev.  and  Mrs.  W.  R.  Weakley  did  not  spare  them- 
selves to  give  us  every  comfort  and  make  our  visit  a 
delight.  In  Hiroshima  Rev.  and  Mrs.  W.  J.  Callahan 
and  that  boy.  Will,  made  life  worth  living ;  while  Miss 
Gaines  and  her  assistants  added  good  cheer.  In  Kobe 
we  found  in  the  homes  of  Rev.  and  Mrs.  S.  E.  Hager, 
Rev.  and  Mrs.  Thomas  H.  Haden,  and  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
J.  C.  C.  Newton  sweet  rest  and  refreshing  associa- 
tions. So,  when  on  that  Sunday  evening  we  pushed 
out  in  the  launch  for  the  steamer  while  our  friends 
waved  us  good-by  from  the  wharf,  there  was  a  feeling 
like  unto  sadness.  But  when  we  settled  in  our  cabin 
there  were  sacred  memories  of  all  that  had  come  to 

70 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

us  in  fair  Japan.    These  many  memories  we  shall  ever 
hold  as  the  treasures  taken  in  the  long  journey. 

When  we  awoke  on  Monday  morning  we  were  sail- 
ing the  Inland  Sea,  and  for  one  whole  day  we  looked 
upon  as  fine  scenery  as  can  be  found  in  all  the  world. 
The  Rhine  and  Lake  Lucerne  were  repeated  with  in- 
creased emphasis  in  this  beautiful  sea  of  the  Sunrise 
Kingdom.  At  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  we  passed 
through  the  straits  at  Shimonoseki.  It  was  here  that 
the  treaty  of  peace  between  China  and  Japan  was 
signed  a  dozen  years  ago.  It  was  only  a  few  miles 
from  here  that  Admiral  Togo  destroyed  the  last  hope 
of  the  Russian  fleet.  The  morning  found  us  in  the 
harbor  of  Nagasaki.  We  went  ashore  for  the  day, 
and  visited  the  interesting  points  in  this  historic  city 
of  161,000  people.  It  is  here  that  Roman  Catholicism 
first  planted  the  banner  of  the  cross ;  and  had  the  mis- 
sionaries been  more  anxious  to  establish  the  kingdom 
of  our  Lord  than  the  imperialism  of  Rome,  Japan  to- 
day might  be  a  Christian  nation.  The  Romanists 
were  driven  out  three  hundred  years  ago,  but  to-day 
45,000  of  their  communicants  in  Japan  are  to  be  found 
in  this  vicinity  where  they  first  proclaimed  their  faith. 

71 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
Shanghai^  a  Modern  City. 

THE  Yellow  Sea  acted  very  ugly  the  two  nights 
and  the  day  that  we  were  sailing  its  waters. 
Many  of  the  passengers  were  so  upset  by  the  way  that 
things  were  going  that  they  kept  to  their  cabins. 
When,  however,  the  medical  inspector  aroused  us  at 
six  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  second  day,  all  were 
able  to  report  perfect  health.  The  sight  of  a  quar- 
antine station  always  has  a  health-giving  influence. 
The  physician  at  the  Chinese  port  of  Shanghai  was 
not  a  Chinese  but  an  American  of  the  Irish  type.  We 
were  reminded  that  we  were  entering  a  country  where 
the  foreigner  is  ever  in  evidence.  Our  good  steamer 
did  not  go  to  the  dock  in  Shanghai,  but  anchored  at 
Woosung,  ten  miles  from  Shanghai,  and  we  reached 
the  city  by  a  launch  coming  up  the  Huang-po  River. 
The  trip  of  one  hour  and  a  half  was  full  of  interest; 
and  we  had  our  first  view  of  the  Chinese  junks  and 
sailing  vessels,  and  also  of  English,  German,  Austrian, 
and  American  war  ships  in  Eastern  waters.  The 
Americans  were  quite  enthusiastic,  if  not  hilarious, 
when  they  came  under  the  folds  of  Old  Glory.  This 
is  the  only  time  that  the  Americans  had  seen  their  flag 
on  the  waters  of  the  Eastern  sea ;  and  while  there  was 
rejoicing  at  the  sight,  yet  there  was  a  sadness  that 
the  Stars  and  Stripes  were  known  to  the  Orientals  al- 
most entirely  as  the  colors  of  a  battle  ship  and  seldom 
as  those  of  vessels  of  peace  and  commerce.     A  little 

72 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

world  travel  would  convince  the  American  people  that 
they  are  making  a  mistake  in  not  establishing  a  cred- 
itable and  competent  merchant  marine.  Too  much 
emphasis  has  been  put  on  the  navy  as  compared  with 
that  given  to  merchant  vessels.  A  great  number  of 
battle  ships  will  not  compensate  for  a  lack  of  vessels 
that  can  be  used  as  transports  in  time  of  war.  Amer- 
icans cannot  travel  far  in  American  vessels  and  have 
the  comforts  which  travelers  require.  The  govern- 
ment at  Washington  would  do  well  to  consider  the 
question  of  a  strong  world-wide  merchant  marine  and 
the  steps  that  should  be  taken  to  secure  it.  England, 
Germany,  and  even  Japan  can  teach  America  some 
lessons  in  this  important  matter. 

As  the  launch  steamed  up  to  the  wharf  we  received 
salutes  and  friendly  greetings  from  Dr.  and  Mrs.  J. 
B.  Fearn  and  Rev.  R.  A.  Parker.  Mrs.  Dr.  Fearn 
had  been  a  passenger  with  us  on  the  Mongolia  on  the 
trip  across  the  Pacific  Ocean.  So  at  once  we  were 
wheeled  off  in  jinrikishas  to  the  hospitable  home  of 
these  good  friends  in  the  old  Trinity  mission  house, 
which  was  built  forty  years  ago  by  Dr.  Young  J. 
Allen.  The  historical  associations  of  the  place,  the 
cheerful,  glowing  fire  in  the  room  set  apart  for  the 
comfort  of  the  travelers,  the  gracious  ministrations 
of  the  hostess,  the  untiring  kindness  of  the  host  took 
away  the  strangeness  of  the  land  and  its  people  and 
gave  us  a  home  feeling  which  one  seldom  gets  in 
world  wanderings.  But  the  English  language  does 
not  furnish  words  sufficiently  strong  to  express  the 
heartiness  and  the  richness  of  the  welcome,  the  full- 
ness of  the  entertainment  which  the  missionaries  have 
shown  us  everywhere  in  these  Oriental  lands.     They 

73 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

have  been  mouth,  feet,  and  hands  in  this  whole  East- 
ern travel.  Without  them  the  tourists  would  be  help- 
less and  comfortless,  and  they  would  be  compelled  to 
retire  without  any  adequate  view  of  the  country. 
What  the  missionary  is  doing  for  the  tourist  to-day 
he  has  done  for  the  merchants,  the  traders,  and  the 
promoters  in  earlier  days.  He  is  sometimes  spoken 
of  in  disrespectful  terms  by  these  same  men  to-day, 
but  the  shame  is  not  the  missionary's.  What  the  mis- 
sionary has  done  for  China  in  opening  up  the  way  for 
Western  learning  and  Western  enterprise,  as  well  as 
in  the  establishment  of  schools  and  other  institutions 
of  the  present-day  world  civilization,  cannot  be  esti- 
mated in  any  values  which  the  traders  possess.  The 
day  is  coming  when  China  will  learn  that  the  "for- 
eign devil"  is  not  the  missionary,  for  he  is  in  reality 
the  foreign  friend.  It  is  true  that  the  political  mis- 
sionary occasionally  slips  into  China  just  as  the  po- 
litical preacher  occasionally  exhibits  himself  in  the 
home  pulpit;  but  neither  of  them  has  a  permanent 
position  in  the  ministry,  as  the  gospel  of  Jesus  deals 
with  a  kingdom  not  of  this  world.  The  missionaries 
who  have  helped  China  most  are  those  who  have  con- 
sented to  preach  the  gospel  and  to  give  their  time  and 
talents  to  those  enterprises  which  have  for  their  ob- 
ject the  Christianization  of  this  great  country. 

Shanghai  is  a  great  city  of  little  more  than  fifty 
years'  history,  but  China  has  had  very  little  to  do 
with  its  making.  The  old  Chinese  city  inclosed  with- 
in its  ancient  walls  has  about  150,000  people.  The 
Shanghai  outside  of  the  walls  has  about  800,000  peo- 
ple, of  whom  14,000  are  foreigners.  The  jetty  where 
we  landed  from  the  launch  is  in  the  French  conces- 

74 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

sion.  Within  this  French  concession,  which  is  con- 
trolled by  the  French  government,  there  are  about 
150,000  people.  The  international  concession,  which 
has  a  municipal  government  under  the  control  of  the 
representatives  of  the  foreign  landowners,  has  about 
500,000  people.  The  British  predominate  among  the 
foreigners,  and  so  the  city  government  is  largely  Brit- 
ish. English  policemen  and  the  well-known  Sikhs  of 
India  patrol  the  streets  and  keep  the  peace.  The 
Sikhs  are  very  rough  in  the  handling  of  the  Chinese, 
and  are  greatly  feared  by  the  natives.  They  are  tall, 
black,  full-bearded,  with  vicious  eyes,  and  dressed  in 
heavy  long  coats.  There  are  also  some  Chinese  police- 
men who  work  with  the  Sikhs.  The  English  police- 
men in  their  London  garb  take  a  general  oversight  of 
the  city. 

Shanghai,  with  its  practically  1,000,000  people,  is 
the  great  distributing  point  for  the  foreign  commerce 
of  China,  Japan,  and  Korea.  Many  of  the  14,000 
foreigners,  mostly  English,  are  the  representatives  of 
large  commercial  establishments  in  Europe  and  Amer- 
ica. It  is  true  that  there  are  5,000  or  6,000  Japanese 
here,  but  they  are  here  in  their  own  behalf.  They  are 
building  a  fine  Buddhist  temple  on  one  of  the  principal 
streets,  and  they  have  erected  a  school  building  for 
their  children  which  would  do  credit  to  any  city  and 
which  is  a  fine  model  for  the  Chinese.  The  streets 
of  this  foreign  Shanghai  have  good  width  and  are 
kept  cleaner  than  the  streets  of  any  other  city  in 
China,  although  that  is  not  saying  much,  as  the  streets 
of  the  Chinese  cities  are  proverbially  unclean.  The 
business  houses  are  mostly  two-storied,  but  in  some 
of  the  business  sections  there  are  a  number  of  large 

75 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

buildings  four,  five,  and  even  eight  stories  high.  The 
architecture  of  these  buildings  is  largely  English.  The 
morning  that  we  arrived  the  first  street  cars  began 
to  move.  The  streets  along  which  the  cars  ran  were 
crowded  by  the  people,  who  wanted  to  see  this  dread- 
ful engine  of  destruction  made  by  the  "foreign  devil." 
For  two  days  the  cars  ran  regularly;  but  no  passen- 
gers were  taken,  as  the  authorities  thought  the  people 
should  become  somewhat  accustomed  to  them  before 
they  were  allowed  to  ride.  When  they  were  opened 
for  traffic,  they  were  crowded  to  the  utmost  on  every 
trip.  Some  accidents  happened,  but  not  as  many  as 
the  Chinese  expected,  as  they  had  circulated  the  re- 
port that  the  cars  were  to  kill  at  least  one  man  a  day. 
The  cars  run  only  in  the  territory  of  the  foreign  con- 
cessions. The  fact  is,  the  streets  of  the  native  cities 
are  not  as  wide  as  a  street  car,  and  consequently  cars 
can  never  run  in  them  except  that  a  roadway  is  bought 
and  prepared.  But  the  Chinese  approve  and  enjoy 
these  institutions  of  the  foreigners  after  they  learn 
that  they  are  for  good  and  not  evil  to  the  community. 
Many  of  the  wealthy  Chinese  who  have  come  to 
Shanghai  have  built  large  foreign  houses  for  their 
families  and  furnished  them  after  the  manner  of  for- 
eigners. Some  of  them  have  introduced  foreign  cook- 
ing into  their  homes,  and  some  wear  foreign  clothing. 
But  these  are  always  exceptions  to  the  general  rule. 
The  Chinese  are  glad  to  get  the  protection  of  the 
foreign  city,  for  in  their  own  cities  they  have  police- 
men only  to  scare  away  the  thieves  rather  than  to 
arrest  them.  So  Shanghai  is  becoming  the  center 
for  wealthy  Chinese  who  desire  to  escape  the  private 
thieves  and  the  public  grafters  of  the  interior, 

76 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

I  called  on  the  Hon.  Charles  Denby,  the  United 
States  Consul-General  and  the  son  of  the  late  Mr. 
Charles  Denby,  who  was  the  Minister  of  the  Unit- 
ed States  to  China  for  several  years  and  who  is 
known  to  the  Christian  world  as  a  great  friend  of  the 
missionaries.  The  Consul-General  was  very  kind,  and 
took  time  to  show  me  the  building  in  which  the  con- 
sulate is  located.  On  the  first  floor  is  the  American 
post  office,  where  letters  and  other  mail  matter  could 
be  sent  to  the  United  States  under  the  same  rates  that 
exist  in  the  United  States  and  with  the  same  kind  of 
stamps.  I  was  shown  two  prisoners  in  their  cells 
whom  the  United  States  marshal  was  to  accompany 
to  the  United  States.  The  cells  were  two  dark  rooms 
of  an  old  residence,  with  some  iron  rods  across  the 
one  window.  Any  enterprising  prisoner  could  break 
jail  in  a  few  hours'  time.  The  fact  is,  breaking  jail 
is  the  usual  pastime  of  these  American  lawbreakers. 
When  the  authorities  want  to  hold  a  desperate  char- 
acter secure,  they  borrow  a  cell  in  the  jail  of  the 
British  consulate.  The  cells  in  the  American  con- 
sulate are  not  only  insecure,  but  they  are  also  uncom- 
fortable and  unworthy  of  a  great  country  like  our 
own.  Many  of  the  consulates  in  Shanghai  are  in 
their  own  buildings,  which  have  been  built  to  meet 
their  needs;  but  the  representatives  of  the  United 
States  are  compelled  to  rent  what  they  can  find  and 
make  themselves  as  comfortable  as  the  conditions  will 
allow.  Shanghai,  the  doorway  into  China,  should 
have  a  building  that  will  be  representative  of  our 
great  country. 

On  my  first  day  in  Shanghai  I  called  on  Bishop 
J.  W.  Bashford,  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 

77 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

who  was  making  preparations  to  leave  the  next  day 
by  way  of  Siberia  for  the  United  States  to  attend  the 
General  Conference  of  his  Church  in  Baltimore  in 
May,  He  has  done  a  great  work  during  his  quadren- 
nium  as  presiding  bishop  in  this  district.  His  admin- 
istration has  given  great  satisfaction  to  the  mission- 
aries of  his  Church,  and  his  brotherly  spirit  has  won 
for  him  an  enviable  place  among  the  missionaries  of 
all  Churches  in  China.  There  can  be  no  question  that 
the  plan  of  assigning  him  to  this  field  for  a  quadren- 
nium  has  proven  to  be  exceedingly  wise.  He  has 
learned  the  field,  the  men,  the  people,  the  conditions 
in  four  years,  and  has  been  able  to  give  his  Church  a 
competent  administration.  The  inadequacy  of  admin- 
istration through  a  flying  visit  of  even  the  wisest 
men  has  been  fully  demonstrated.  The  missionaries 
of  China  have  given  Bishop  Bashford  a  hearty  wel- 
come back  for  a  second  term.  His  residence  now  is 
in  Peking,  while  Bishop  Lewis,  of  his  Church,  resides 
in  Foochow. 

I  was  very  glad  to  see  the  International  Institute  of 
China,  the  educational  institution  of  which  Dr.  Gil- 
bert Reid  is  the  President.  While  the  object  of  the 
Institute  is  to  impart  instruction  and  extend  enlight- 
enment by  the  maintenance  of  a  first-class  school  for 
young  men  of  the  higher  families,  yet  its  larger  aim 
is  to  promote  harmony  between  Chinese  and  foreign- 
ers and  between  Christian  and  non-Christian  Chinese. 
EflForts  are  constantly  made  to  promote  a  friendly  in- 
tercourse between  the  educated  men  of  the  higher 
classes  and  to  break  down  the  barriers  which  now 
separate  the  Chinese  and  foreigners.  The  member- 
ship of  the  Institute  includes  high  officials  and  literary 

78 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

men  of  all  Qiina  and  many  of  the  leading  foreigners 
in  China  and  some  citizens  of  the  United  States.  Sev- 
eral receptions  in  honor  of  certain  distinguished  vis- 
itors have  been  held  which  contributed  largely  to  the 
establishment  of  good  feeling  in  the  Chinese  toward 
the  foreigner.  The  school  has  about  one  hundred 
young  men  from  the  best  families  of  China.  There 
are  no  distinctively  Christian  exercises  held  for  the 
pupils.  Only  two  of  the  young  men  are  Christians. 
In  fact,  the  Institute  is  not  a  Christian  institution, 
but  an  institute  to  promote  harmony  between  the  Chi- 
nese and  the  foreigners.  Excellent  buildings  have 
been  erected.  The  results  of  this  work  must  be  bene- 
ficial in  the  end  to  the  cause  of  Christianity.  An 
afternoon  in  the  home  of  Dr.  Reid  and  his  Southern 
wife,  who  was  formerly  Miss  Reynolds,  of  South 
Carolina,  was  one  of  the  delights  of  our  visit  to 
Shanghai. 

Shanghai  is  well  supplied  with  excellent  educational 
institutions.  The  municipal  public  school  for  the  for- 
eign children  is  equal  to  the  demands  upon  it.  The 
Southern  Baptists  have  a  fine  educational  plant;  the 
Episcopalians  have  their  St.  John's  College,  which 
has  done  very  fine  work  for  the  Chinese;  the  Pres- 
byterians have  their  institutions.  Our  own  Anglo- 
Chinese  College  has  always  been  recognized  as  one  of 
the  best  schools  in  the  city.  My  first  view  of  China 
was  not  what  I  would  have  had  at  any  native  city, 
but  I  was  able  to  see  in  Shanghai  what  the  foreign 
influence  really  is  wherever  it  has  full  sway.  Of  that 
influence  I  shall  not  now  speak. 

Rev.  John  W.  Cline  and  his  cultured  wife,  of  the 
Anglo-Chinese  College,  made  us  feel  much  at  home 

79 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

with  them  four  days  of  our  sojourn  in  Shanghai. 
They  Hve  in  one  of  the  houses  of  the  compound,  Rev. 
Joseph  Whiteside  (in  the  absence  of  Dr.  A.  P.  Par- 
ker) in  the  second,  Mrs.  Young  J.  Allen  in  the  third, 
and  Dr.  W.  H,  Lacyj  the  Manager  of  the  Publishing 
House,  in  the  fourth.  On  this  same  plot  of  ground 
stand  the  Publishing  House  and  also  some  flats  which 
have  been  built  as  an  endowment  of  Soochow  Uni- 
versity. On  the  opposite  side  of  the  street  is  the 
campus  with  the  buildings  of  the  Anglo-Chinese  Col- 
lege. All  this  land  is  now  quite  valuable,  as  it  has 
come  to  be  near  the  center  of  the  city  since  the  re- 
cent developments  in  Shanghai.  Before  many  years 
it  may  be  a  wise  business  action  to  sell  this  fine  prop- 
erty on  which  the  school  stands  and  buy  elsewhere  at 
a  lower  rate.  The  question  of  disposing  of  the  Anglo- 
Chinese  College  altogether  and  putting  its  value  in 
the  Soochow  University  has  been  frequently  discussed. 
The  Anglo-Chinese  College  has  had  a  fine  record,  and 
its  constituency  is  now  giving  it  splendid  support; 
and  its  enrollment  of  two  hundred  young  men  should 
surely  be  some  argument  for  its  continuance.  Its 
former  pupils  form  a  fine  body  of  workers  for  Meth- 
odism in  lower  China.  The  institution  would  likely 
do  just  as  well  on  less  expensive  ground,  and  the 
extra  amount  of  money  which  the  present  property 
would  bring  could  be  used  to  assist  Soochow  Uni- 
versity or  to  equip  more  fully  the  Anglo-Chinese  Col- 
lege. President  Cline  and  Professor  Whiteside  and 
their  corps  of  Chinese  teachers  are  kept  very  busy 
with  this  important  school.  I  had  the  pleasure  of 
preaching  to  a  great  audience  in  the  chapel  on  my 
last  Sunday  through  the  interpretation  of  Prof.  H.  L. 

80 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

Zia,  the  Sunday  school  superintendent.  I  never 
preached  to  a  more  inspiring  audience. 

I  was  fortunate  in  getting  a  glimpse  at  the  excel- 
lent building  of  the  McTyeire  School  for  Girls  and  its 
fine  body  of  more  than  one  hundred  girls.  Miss  Helen 
Lee  Richardson  is  a  worthy  successor  of  the  founder, 
Miss  Laura  Haygood.  The  institution  is  reaching 
young  ladies  from  the  best  families,  such  as  the 
grandnieces  of  the  late  Li  Hung  Chang  and  nieces 
of  the  Chinese  Minister,  Wu  Ting  Fang.  The  influ- 
ence of  such  an  institution,  with  its  strong  evangelical 
Christianity,  can  hardly  be  estimated.  There  is  al- 
ready need  for  enlargement.  The  beautiful  Moore 
Memorial  Church,  the  only  satisfactory  church  that 
we  have  in  China,  with  the  possible  exception  of  the 
one  in  West  Soochow,  stands  on  the  same  lot  with  the 
school.  The  pastor  of  the  school  is  one  of  the  strong- 
est Chinese  preachers  that  we  have  in  the  Conference. 

The  most  imposing  building  used  for  Christian 
work  that  I  saw  in  the  East  is  the  new  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association,  which  was  completed 
in  October,  1907,  at  a  cost  of  about  $150,000.  The 
valuable  lot  on  which  it  stands  cost  about  $100,000,  and 
was  donated  by  the  Chinese.  In  all  the  conveniences 
and  facilities  for  Christian  work  it  stands  the  equal 
of  the  best  in  America.  It  conducts  a  regular  day 
school  also,  in  which  there  are  one  hundred  and 
eighty  young  men.  The  Chinese  General  Secretary  is 
Mr.  S.  K.  Tsao,  who  will  be  known  to  the  Methodists 
of  the  South  as  John  Marshall,  the  son  of  the  late 
C.  K.  Marshall,  one  of  our  first  Chinese  preachers. 
He  is  as  fine  a  specimen  of  Christian  manhood  as 
one  is  apt  to  find  anywhere  in  the  world,  and  his  use 
6  81 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

of  the  English  Inaguage  would  persuade  any  listener 
that  English  was  his  mother  tongue.  Methodism  has 
furnished  some  of  the  best  workers  for  this  Young 
Men's  Christian  Association.  There  are  seventy  Stu- 
dent Young  Men's  Christian  Associations  in  China, 
and  about  forty  organizations  in  cities.  The  Associa- 
tion in  Canton  is  erecting  a  $100,000  building.  The 
work  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  in  China  is  very  encour- 
aging. 

Shanghai  is  becoming  a  center  for  publishing  in- 
terests in  China.  The  Presbyterian  Press  does  $250,- 
000  worth  of  business  every  year.  The  bookstore  and 
the  general  offices  are  in  the  center  of  the  city,  but 
the  manufacturing  department  is  out  where  real  es- 
tate is  cheaper  and  where  expenses  will  be  less.  Rev. 
George  F.  Fitch,  D.D.,  is  the  Manager  of  the  Pub- 
lishing House.  He  has  labored  twenty-five  years  in 
China.  Three  of  his  sons  are  already  preaching  the 
gospel  in  Chinese,  and  the  fourth  is  now  in  college 
preparing  himself  for  the  same  work.  Such  mission- 
ary families  must  have  very  great  influence  on  China. 
The  two  hundred  employees  of  the  Presbyterian  Press 
assemble  every  morning  at  7 130  o'clock  for  religious 
services  before  they  begin  the  work  of  the  day.  Why 
should  not  a  Church  institution  begin  the  day  with 
the  reading  of  the  Bible  and  with  prayer?  It  is  not 
to  be  wondered  at  that  the  Presbyterian  Press  is  a 
great  missionary  agency  in  China. 

The  Chinese  Commercial  Press  is  the  largest  pub- 
lishing house  in  the  empire.  It  has  branch  houses  in 
twelve  cities.  The  three  men  who  compose  the  com- 
pany were  trained  in  the  Presbyterian  Publishing 
House.     They  are  Christian  men,  and  two  of  them 

82 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

are  sons  of  a  Presbyterian  Chinese  minister.  The 
capital  of  the  concern  is  $500,000  gold.  The  sales- 
room is  on  one  of  the  principal  streets  downtown,  and 
employs  seventy  men.  The  printing  establishment  is 
out  some  distance,  where  the  company  owns  six  acres 
of  land.  The  new  publishing  house  is  two  stories 
high,  450  feet  long,  and  65  feet  wide.  It  has  recently 
been  finished  at  a  cost  of  $70,000.  The  large  ware- 
room,  or  '*go-down"  as  it  is  called  in  the  East,  cost 
$16,000.  The  publishing  department  employs  six 
hundred  men.  There  are  thirty-five  presses  as  large 
as  those  used  in  our  own  House  in  Nashville.  Eighty 
men  are  employed  by  the  company  in  translating  books 
into  Chinese  and  in  compiling  books  for  schools.  They 
have  facilities  for  stereotyping,  electroplating,  litho- 
graphing, and  for  doing  anything  that  comes  in  any 
printing  and  publishing  establishment.  The  only  for- 
eigners employed  are  Japanese,  and  tliey  are  engaged 
in  the  art  department.  With  the  establishment  of 
such  an  institution  must  come  a  new  era  in  the  schools 
and  in  the  general  reading  of  China.  A  competitive 
concern  is  now  being  organized.  It  is  to  be  hoped 
that  the  competition  will  administer  to  the  life  of  both 
institutions. 

I  was,  of  course,  very  much  interested  in  the  Meth- 
odist Publishing  House,  the  joint  concern  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  and  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South.  The  Manager,  Rev.  W.  H.  Lacy, 
D.D.,  received  me  most  cordially  and  showed  me  in 
every  detail  the  house  and  all  the  departments  of  the 
work.  The  house  and  lot  are  owned  by  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church,  South.  The  house  was  built 
about  five  years  ago  on  the  old  mission  property  which 

83 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

faces  on  Woosung  and  Quinsan  Roads.  The  Board 
of  Missions  of  our  Church  sold  the  lot  to  the  Book 
Committee.  The  Publishing  House  is  controlled  by 
a  Publishing  Committee.  The  concern  is  under  con- 
tract to  pay  our  Book  Committee  five  per  cent  on  its 
investment  in  the  house  and  lot  as  rental.  If  the 
house  is  enlarged  or  ^  new  building  is  required,  our 
Book  Committee  must  furnish  the  funds.  Already  the 
Manager  is  calling  for  an  additional  building,  but  a 
new  warehouse  just  completed  has  enabled  him  to 
make  room  for  the  machinery  by  giving  him  a  place 
to  store  a  large  stock  of  paper.  The  plant,  consisting 
of  the  machinery  of  the  press  room,  bindery,  com- 
posing rooms,  and  foundry,  is  estimated  at  $62,000 
Mexican,  or  about  $30,000  gold.  The  stock  on  hand 
consists  of  paper  and  ink,  $25,000  Mexican,  $11,500 
gold;  merchandise,  $4,800  gold;  foundry  material,  $1,- 
800  gold;  bindery  material,  $1,400  gold.  The  average 
business  per  month  is  about  $4,800  gold.  The  num- 
ber of  persons  employed  is  about  one  hundred.  The 
capital  of  the  concern  is  $120,000  Mexican,  or  about 
$56,000  gold. 

One  evening,  in  company  with  two  gentlemen,  I 
visited  the  opium-smoking  resorts.  We  went  into 
three  or  four  very  large  establishments,  and  found 
them  all  filled  even  at  so  early  an  hour  as  eight  o'clock 
in  the  evening.  Two  men  were  in  each  booth  lying 
down  with  a  lamp  between  them  and  with  long- 
stemmed  opium  pipes  in  their  hands.  Many  of  them 
were  business  men  who  had  come  in  to  smoke  socially 
and  talk  business.  Many  showed  that  they  were  al- 
ready in  the  coils  of  destruction.  The  crusade  against 
opium  that  is  sweeping  the  empire  has  come  none  too 

84 


A    CHINAMAN    SETTING   TYPE. 


TYPf   FOUNDRY,  PUBLISHING  HOUSE, 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

soon.  In  another  part  of  the  large  establishments 
were  restaurants  where  there  was  much  smoking  and 
tea-drinking.  An  orchestra  of  Chinese  musicians 
made  boisterous  music  for  the  entertainment  of  the 
throng  of  four  or  five  hundred  people  in  the  building. 
Gayly  dressed  public  girls,  fourteen  to  sixteen  years 
of  age,  were  led  around  by  their  body  servants.  These 
girls  were  kidnaped  when  small,  innocent  children  by 
emissaries  of  these  houses  whose  mistresses  sell  them- 
selves and  these  guileless  babes  into  the  captivity  of 
bell  for  the  small  pittance  of  a  few  dollars.  But  this 
sight  can  be  seen  nowhere  in  any  native  city  of  China 
and  only  in  that  part  of  Shanghai  which  is  under  Eu- 
ropean and  American  rule.  Doors  of  Hope  are  being 
opened  for  these  unfortunate  girls,  and  some  are  being 
rescued.  It  is  a  pity  that  Judge  L.  R.  Wilfrey  has  not 
the  power  to  wipe  out  this  disgrace  as  he  has  that  which 
once  attached  to  that  object  of  the  street  that  called 
herself  the  "American  girl."  The  foreign  settlement  in 
Shanghai  has  said  in  regard  to  the  opium  crusade  that 
it  will  not  stop  the  sale  of  opium  until  evidence  has 
been  produced  that  it  has  been  stopped  in  the  native 
cities.  Foreign  settlements  too  frequently  lead  in  vice, 
but  follow  in  virtue.  That  is  why  missions  rarely  suc- 
ceed where  the  number  of  foreigners  is  large.  The 
Christianity  that  is  to  save  China  must  come  from  the 
center  of  the  empire  to  the  ports,  and  not  from  the 
ports  to  the  center.  That  Church  is  wise  that  founds 
its  missions  far  from  the  track  of  the  foreigner. 

There  were  many  other  events  in  those  last  days 
which  were  intensely  interesting,  but  I  cannot  speak 
of  them  at  this  time.  I  must  make  mention  of  a  most 
pleasant  call  on  Dr.  Timothy  Richards  and  his  asso- 

85 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

ciates,  Rev.  W.  A.  Cornably,  Rev.  David  McGillray, 
of  the  Christian  Literature  Society,  and  of  Dr.  Rich- 
ards's  call  on  me.  He  has  great  comprehensive  ideas 
for  the  East.  He  wants  three  missionary  colleges 
established — one  in  America,  one  in  Europe,  and  one 
in  the  Orient — for  the  study  of  comparative  religion. 
He  says  that  "missionaries  who  do  not  know  Chinese 
thought  and  who  are  not  carefully  trained  in  com- 
parative religion  and  the  science  of  missions  are  in 
China  like  an  army  armed  with  bows  and  arrows 
marching  to  meet  one  armed  with  Catling  guns."  But 
his  proposal  cannot  be  discussed  here.  On  Sunday  I 
dined  with  Mrs.  Young  J.  Allen  and  enjoyed  the  sweet 
fellowship  of  her  home,  made  sacred  by  the  great  life 
of  her  noble  husband.  In  the  afternoon  I  stood  at 
the  graves  of  Dr.  Allen,  Mrs.  J.  W.  Lambuth,  Miss 
Laura  Haygood,  and  others  whose  names  are  written 
on  the  broad  page  of  the  history  of  Christianity  in 
this  country. 

86 


CHAPTER  IX. 
A  Visit  to  the  Missions. 

WHEN  a  man  has  the  privilege  of  going  up  the 
Yang-tse  River  from  Shanghai  to  Nanking 
with  Rev.  George  A.  Stuart,  M.A.,  M.D.,  the  Presi- 
dent of  Nanking  University,  he  will  act  wisely  if  he 
takes  it.  Dr.  Stuart  has  been  in  China  for  twenty- 
four  years,  a  missionary  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  and  has  done  almost  everything  from  run- 
ning a  hospital  and  riding  a  Chinese  circuit  to  pre- 
siding over  a  great  educational  institution.  He  has  re- 
cently resigned  the  presidency  of  the  university  to 
become  the  editor  of  the  Methodist  Advocate  at  Shang- 
hai, succeeding  Dr.  A.  P.  Parker,  and  to  translate 
some  theological  works  into  the  Chinese  language. 
Our  steamer  left  Shanghai  at  midnight,  and  when  we 
awoke  the  next  morning,  I  found  that  we  were  on  a 
very  comfortable  British  steamer  that  plies  between 
Shanghai  and  Hankow,  a  distance  of  four  hundred 
miles.  There  are  two  lines  of  British  steamers  on  the 
great  river ;  also  a  French,  a  Japanese,  a  German,  and 
a  Chinese  line.  They  carry  first-class,  second-class, 
and  steerage  Chinese  passengers,  and  in  a  special  apart- 
ment the  foreign  passengers.  The  captain  and  sev- 
eral of  the  officers  were  English,  the  food  was  famil- 
iar, and  the  company  was  of  my  own  Anglo-Saxon 
or  Anglo-Celtic  blood.  (There  is  Irish  in  the  most 
of  us  and  often  in  the  best  of  us.)  Traveling  on  the 
greatest  river  in  China,  and  yet  without  the  semblance 

87' 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

of  strangeness — who  could  have  expected  it?  The 
foreigner  gets  the  best  of  everything  in  China — except 
a  bargain.  I  was  shown  the  utmost  respect  by  the 
Chinese  everywhere.  It  is  true  that  I  was  called  a 
"foreign  devil"  a  few  times;  but  the  language  in  which 
the  sentiment  was  expressed  produced  no  jar  on  my 
sensibilities,  and  I  would  never  have  noticed  the  op- 
probrious title  had  a  missionary  not  called  my  atten- 
tion to  it.  The  white  man's  face  and  bearing,  his  man- 
ner and  dress  count  for  something  among  the  other 
races  of  the  world.  Shall  he  abuse  this  heaven-given 
privilege?  Surely  the  white  man  owes  his  brethren 
in  colors  more  than  he  may  expect  of  them. 

After  thirty  hours'  travel  the  distance  of  two  hun- 
dred and  five  miles  had  been  covered,  and  we  were  at 
the  dock  in  Nanking,  the  ancient  capital,  and  for  many 
times,  of  the  empire.  In  official  documents  it  is  not 
proper  to  call  the  city  Nanking,  as  the  syllable  "king" 
means  capital,  and  the  government  acknowledges  only 
one  capital.  So  the  Chinese  call  it  Kiang  Ning  Fu,  or 
Kiu  Ling,  and  even  other  names.  What  a  motley 
throng  met  us  at  the  wharf — carriage  drivers,  rick- 
shaw pullers,  wheelbarrow  pushers,  Chinese  hotel  run- 
ners, beggars,  and  hardly  a  decent-looking  man  in  the 
whole  lot!  I  saw  that  I  had  at  last  reached  China. 
A  tourist  will  get  a  better  idea  of  Europe  than  of 
China  by  seeing  Shanghai.  In  fact,  I  slept  in  France 
or  in  England  the  nights  that  I  was  in  Shanghai ;  but 
when  I  lay  on  the  good  missionary's  bed  in  Nanking, 
I  was  within  a  great  city  wall  with  locked  gates. 
Nanking  has  been  a  walled  city  since  the  fifth  or 
sixth  century  before  Christ.  The  walls  of  to-day  have 
an  elevation  varying  from  forty  to  ninety  feet,  are 

88 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

from  twenty  to  forty  feet  in  thickness,  and  are  twenty- 
two  miles  in  circumference.  A  large  portion  of  the 
inclosed  area  is  vacant,  but  the  inhabited  part  has  a 
population  of  500,000  people.  The  Taiping  rebels 
wrought  havoc  with  the  city  during  their  occupation, 
from  1853  to  1864.  They  reduced  it  to  a  ruinous  con- 
dition, destroyed  its  famous  pagoda,  the  Porcelain 
Tower,  and  swept  away  the  last  vestige  of  the  old 
palace  of  the  Ming  kings.  I  visited  the  place  of  the 
imperial  palace,  made  a  circuit  of  its  walls,  and  went 
to  the  celebrated  mausoleum  of  the  Emperor  Hung 
Wu,  the  founder  of  the  Ming  dynasty,  who  died  in 
1398.  How  vain  is  the  glory  of  man,  and  how  fragile 
his  greatest  works  of  stone  and  brass !  Gray  was  right 
when  he  said:  "The  paths  of  glory  lead  but  to  the 
grave."  The  stone  elephants,  sheep,  horses,  unicorns, 
warriors,  and  priests  which  lined  the  sacred  avenue 
to  the  tomb  of  the  great  in  their  mute  solemnity  give 
testimony  to  the  ultimate  desolateness  of  him  whose 
immortality  rests  entirely  upon  the  material  things  of 
this  world.  Man  may  live  and  continue  to  live — not 
by  what  he  possesses  or  by  what  he  pretends  to  be, 
but  by  what  he  is.  When  will  he  learn  this  lesson  in 
which  the  whole  world  is  an  instructor? 

On  the  way  from  the  wharf  to  the  city,  a  distance  of 
four  miles,  we  passed  the  American  consulate.  I  gave 
the  stars  and  stripes  my  best  greetings.  Everywhere  on 
each  side  of  the  highway  I  saw  mounds  two  to  three 
feet  high  and  more  or  less  round.  On  inquiry,  I  found 
that  they  were  graves.  Wherever  I  went  in  China — at 
every  roadside,  on  every  hillside,  at  every  riverside — 
there  were  graves.  The  boy  who  thinks  that  ghosts 
are  in  every  graveyard  would  do  much  running  in  Chi- 

89 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

na.  Unburied  coffins  may  be  seen  from  almost  any 
highway.  The  Chinese  must  have  a  lucky  place  for 
their  dead  and  a  lucky  day  for  tlie  burial;  and  unless 
these  are  found,  the  burial  does  not  take  place.  It  hap- 
pens often  that  a  coffin  containing  some  member  of  the 
family  is  kept  in  the  home  for  many  months.  The  cof- 
fins are  made  of  wood,  four  to  five  inches  thick,  and  in 
them  is  placed  unslacked  lime,  and  then  they  are  her- 
metically sealed.  So  there  is  no  danger  to  the  home 
or  the  community  if  the  dead  remain  for  months  or 
even  years  unburied.  In  the  case  of  small  children, 
the  bodies  are  often  tied  up  in  a  bundle  of  straw  and 
left  unburied  in  some  out-of-the-way  place.  I  saw  one 
on  the  walls  of  Huchow.  The  bodies  are  also  placed 
in  the  baby  towers.'  It  is  said  that  formerly  undesired 
live  children  were  destroyed  by  being  put  in  the  baby 
towers.  I  saw  the  baby  towers  in  Nanking,  but  there 
was  no  indication  that  they  are  being  used  at  present. 
However,  in  Shanghai  while  I  was  there  some  friends 
found  that  they  are  still  in  use. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  may  well  be 
proud  of  their  imposing  and  well-appointed  school,  the 
Nanking  University.  I  was  glad  of  the  privilege  of 
addressing  without  an  interpreter  the  two  hundred 
young  men  who  were  gathered  there  from  the  sur- 
rounding provinces.  The  school  year  in  China  closes 
the  first  of  February  at  the  Chinese  New  Year.  The 
beautiful  campus  of  some  fifteen  acres  and  the  half 
dozen  excellent  buildings  for  administration,  chapel, 
instruction,  and  students'  home  give  the  university  a 
most  excellent  plant.  The  policy  of  the  administra- 
tion has  been  to  employ  laymen  for  teachers  in  the 
various    departments    and     reserve    the    missionary 

90 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

preachers  for  the  direct  work  of  preaching.  The  girls' 
school  is  in  the  adjoining  yard.  It  has  about  seventy 
pupils.  The  ground  and  the  money  have  already  been 
secured  for  a  more  satisfactory  new  building.  The 
Philander  Smith  Memorial  Hospital  is  nearer  the  cen- 
ter of  the  city.  It  was  very  gratifying  to  know  that 
Methodism  has  such  a  well-equipped  humanitarian  in- 
stitution in  the  heart  of  that  great  community.  Dr. 
Robert  C.  Beebe,  after  his  twenty-five  years  as  a  med- 
ical missionary  in  Nanking,  wields  an  influence  for 
Christianity  which  seldom  comes  to  any  man.  The 
Presbyterians  and  the  Disciples  also  have  strong  mis- 
sions in  Nanking.  Surely  this  great  population  will 
yet  hear  the  gospel  and  come  to  know  the  Lord  of 
life.  Dr.  Stuart  not  only  took  me  into  his  own  home 
and  gave  me  the  benefit  of  the  gracious  kindness  of 
his  wife  and  three  children,  but  he  even  sacrificed  his 
time  to  serve  as  my  guide  through  the  city.  After 
visiting  the  missions  we  went  to  the  Imperial  Con- 
fucian Temple,  one  of  the  three  in  the  entire  empire. 
We  found  it  closed  and  the  gates  locked.  But  this 
was  no  surprise  to  him,  as  he  knew  that  the  temple  is 
opened  for  worship  only  once  in  three  years,  when  the 
Emperor,  in  person  or  by  proxy,  comes  to  worship. 
When  the  keeper  let  us  in,  we  found  that  dust,  cob- 
webs, and  the  usual  signs  of  neglect  were  everywhere 
in  evidence.  There  was  nothing  in  the  great  temple 
except  some  tablets  to  Confucius  and  to  some  mem- 
bers of  his  family.  That  is  about  all  to  be  found  in 
any  Confucian  temple.  Confucius  was  a  great  sage 
and  moralist,  but  he  founded  no  religion — only  a  cult. 
The  three  fundamental  tenets  of  Confucian  thought 
are  the  fundamental  unity  which  underlies  the  variety 

91 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

of  the  phenomena  of  nature ;  the  existence  in  the  midst 
of  all  change  of  an  eternal  harmonious  order;  and 
man  is  endowed  at  his  birth  with  a  nature  which  is 
radically  good.  Confucianism  can  never  generate  or 
maintain  any  spiritual  life.  The  personality  of  the 
Divine  Being  is  a  conception  which  is  entirely  foreign 
to  Confucianists.  The  fact  is,  it  is  right  here  where 
the  trouble  with  all  Oriental  religious  thought  is  to 
be  found.  The  Oriental  cannot  get  out  of  pantheism. 
This  may  account  in  a  great  measure  for  the  belief  in 
demonology  which  dominates  China.  The  pagoda, 
with  its  five,  seven,  or  nine  stories,  is  a  monument  to 
the  belief  in  spirits.  The  pagoda  protects  the  town; 
for  the  spirits,  on  leaving  its  top,  must  go  in  a  straight 
horizontal  line,  and  consequently  they  will  pass  over 
the  city,  as  the  pagoda  is  always  higher  than  any  build- 
ings in  the  city.  In  front  of  a  house  which  faces  an 
open  lot,  opposite  the  doorway,  is  a  brick  wall  ten 
feet  wide  and  as  high  as  the  eaves  of  the  house.  The 
spirits  coming  from  the  vacant  lot  will  strike  the  wall 
and  be  turned  down  the  street  and  be  prevented  from 
entering  the  house.  The  cure  for  such  superstitions 
is  intellectual  enlightenment  and  a  proper  conception 
of  the  Divine  Being  such  as  Christianity  alone  will 
.furnish.  Confucianism  and  Buddhism  may  support 
schools  and  thereby  banish  the  superstition,  but  they 
have  no  adequate  conceptions  to  offer.  Enlightenment 
on  their  plan  means  agnosticism  in  the  end. 

The  stroll  through  the  narrow,  ten- foot,  greatly 
congested  business  streets  was  full  of  exciting  interest. 
The  stores  all  open  out  on  the  street.  Some  of  these 
looked  very  beautiful,  while  others  seemed  barren. 
The  fact  is,  the  Chinese  merchant  must  be  entreated 

92 


^H^^-^^^^^HjBf     ^H 

^J^^-^J 

THE    TEA    RESTAURANT. 


BOUND   FEET. 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

to  show  his  goods.  He  will  usually  bring  out  what  is 
asked  for,  but  he  is  not  there  merely  to  show  goods. 
Shopping  here  is  a  little  difficult  for  the  American 
women.  Is  there  anything  quite  so  fascinating  to  an 
American  woman  anywhere  in  the  world  as  shopping? 
Back  of  all  these  shops  are  the  homes  of  those  who 
keep  them.  It  is  no  trouble  to  see  the  Chinese  at 
their  meals,  as  their  table  is  set  in  the  place  of  busi- 
ness. They  have  no  tablecloths,  no  napkins,  no  knives 
and  forks,  no  spoons,  no  plates,  no  sauce  bottles,  no 
pitchers  or  pots.  Bowls  and  chopsticks  are  their  uten- 
sils in  eating ;  while  the  common  bowls,  with  cut  meats, 
vegetables,  delicacies,  each  person  eats  from  with  his 
own  chopsticks  as  he  may  be  inclined.  The  tea  houses 
are  prevalent  on  every  street.  The  Chinaman  does 
not  drink  water;  but  he  must  have  his  tea  at  every 
hour  in  the  day,  if  not  oftener.  That  means  he  wants 
boiling  hot  water  for  his  tea  leaves  in  a  cup.  The 
keeper  of  the  tea  house  has  an  open  place,  with  bare 
tables  and  bare  benches  or  wooden  stools,  and  kettles 
of  boiling  water  on  a  furnace.  The  customer  for  a 
few  cash  (one-hundredth  of  a  half  cent)  gets  his  cup 
filled,  and  he  sits  and  drinks.  The  most  of  the  busi- 
ness of  a  Chinese  city  is  transacted  in  the  tea  houses. 
The  restaurants  are  not  greatly  different  from  the  tea 
houses  except  that  on  the  furnace,  besides  the  boiling 
water,  are  articles  of  food  being  cooked.  The  furnace 
is  in  the  front  of  the  room,  and  so  the  cooking  is  in 
full  view  of  every  passer-by.  After  seeing  the  cook- 
ing and  the  usual  surroundings  I  was  content  to  save 
my  appetite  for  the  missionary's  table. 

After  a  two  days'  sojourn  in  the  ancient  capital  on 
the  Yang-tse,   I   took  the  steamer  for  Chinkiang,  a 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

beautifully  located  city  of  300,000  people,  fifty  miles 
below  Nanking.  The  railroad  has  since  been  opened 
from  Chinkiang  to  Nanking.  Much  work  has  been 
done  on  the  railroad  between  Nanking  and  Tien-tsin. 
When  the  road  is  completed,  there  will  be  a  direct 
line  from  Peking  to  Shanghai  by  way  of  Nanking.  A 
road  is  also  being  built  between  Shanghai  and  Hang- 
chow.  It  will  connect  with  a  road  that  is  to  be  built 
between  Canton  and  Hankow.  A  road  already  exists 
between  Hankow  and  Peking;  so  in  three  or  four 
years  Canton,  Shanghai,  and  Peking  will  be  connected 
by  rail.  When  Canton  is  connected  with  Calcutta,  and 
Bombay  with  the  new  road  through  Persia,  travel  in 
Asia  will  be  more  interesting  and  more  pleasant  than 
it  is  to-day. 

When  the  steamer  anchored  at  Chinkiang,  I  was 
met  by  Rev.  W.  C.  Longden,  the  presiding  elder  of 
the  Chinkiang  District  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  and  taken  ashore  in  a  sampan  and  on  to  his 
hospitable  home.  After  tea  (everybody  has  tea  in  this 
country  at  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon)  we  visited 
the  Girls'  School,  the  Woman's  Hospital,  and  the 
street  chapel  and  church  of  his  denomination.  The 
half  hundred  girls  of  varying  ages  greeted  me  in  their 
assembly  hall  with  a  beautiful  song  of  welcome  sung 
in  my  own  vernacular.  That  was  followed  by  the 
"Hallelujah  Chorus,"  marvelously  well  rendered.  The 
smaller  children  did  their  feats  in  song  and  recita- 
tion, and  the  exercises  closed  with  the  "Kentucky 
Babi."  When  I  told  them  that  Kentucky  furnished 
my  birthplace  and  the  "kinky-heads"  and  "banjo" 
some  early  associations,  they  smiled  their  surprise  and 
delight.     The  voices  were  the  best  that  I  have  ever 

94 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

heard  in  a  school  of  that  size,  whatever  may  have  been 
its  grade  or  nationaHty.  Why  should  I  not  have  con- 
gratulated the  Principal,  Miss  Grace  A.  Crooks,  and 
thanked  the  little  friends  who  entertained  so  charming- 
ly? Miss  Lucy  H.  Hoag,  M.D.,  showed  me  the  Wom- 
an's Hospital  and  told  me  of  the  5,400  cases  that  were 
treated  there  last  year.  This  institution  furnishes  the 
Bible  woman  or  hospital  evangelist  fine  opportunities 
for  preaching  the  gospel.  The  women  will  enlarge 
their  plant  and  with  it  their  work  in  a  short  time. 
Good  fortune  occasionally  comes  to  the  missionaries 
and  their  labors.  The  lot  which  the  school  and  hos- 
pital owned  had  in  it  a  very  ugly  ravine.  Thirty 
thousand  famine  sufferers  came  across  the  river  from 
the  North,  and  the  railroad  came  up  from  the  South 
at  the  same  time.  The  railroad  wanted  dirt  removed 
from  its  right  of  way,  the  school  wanted  its  lot  filled, 
and  the  sufferers  wanted  bread.  The  distributing 
committee  said  to  the  sufferers:  "Put  the  railroad's 
dirt  on  the  missionary's  lot,  and  we  will  furnish  the 
bread."  And  it  was  done.  All  parties  were  helped, 
and  injustice  was  done  to  no  one.  The  philanthropist 
made  no  beggars  in  this  case.  The  fine  location  of  the 
school  and  hospital  on  the  hill  overlooking  the  city 
and  the  river,  the  proximity  of  the  mission  home,  the 
pleasant  surroundings  give  these  institutions  of  Meth- 
odism a  fine  outlook.  The  church  and  the  chapel  in 
the  center  of  the  city  are  meeting  with  gratifying  suc- 
cess. Every  kindness  was  shown  the  Southern  broth- 
er by  the  faithful  missionary  and  his  family,  and  the 
leaving  the  next  morning  had  with  it  the  sincere  hope 
that  the  visitor  and  the  visited  might  some  day  meet 
in  their  native  land. 

95 


ETCHINGSOF     THE     EAST 

My  first  travel  by  railroad  in  China  was  between 
Chinkiang  and  Changchow,  a  distance  of  fifty  miles. 
The  coaches  have  apartments  for  first-class,  second- 
class,  third-class,  and  coolie-class  passengers.  No 
one  can  ride  in  the  lowest  class  unless  he  wears  the 
laborer's  garb.  The  rate  for  first-class  passengers  is 
two  cents  a  mile ;  for  second-class,  one  cent  a  mile ; 
and  for  third-class,  one-half  cent  a  mile.  It  is  seldom 
that  any  one  purchases  a  first-class  ticket,  as  the 
coaches  for  the  second-class  passengers  are  more  com- 
fortable than  any  coaches  in  America  excepting  the 
Pullman.  The  railroad  is  able  to  declare  a  good  divi- 
dend each  year  at  these  rates.  The  road  was  built 
by  the  English,  and  then  taken  over  by  the  Chinese 
with  the  agreement  that  the  English  corporation 
should  receive  five  per  cent  on  their  investment.  The 
Chinese  complained  at  its  cost,  but  the  English  in- 
sisted that  railroads  were  costly  institutions.  The 
young  Englishmen  who  are  employed  as  guards  often 
kick  and  cuff  the  Chinese  at  the  stations  as  though 
they  were  so  many  animals.  They  hide  behind  the 
exterritoriality  clause,  and  know  they  are  secure  in 
their  foreign  protection.  As  a  result  of  this  kind  of 
action  on  the  part  of  employees,  the  Chinese  manage- 
ment of  the  road  is  retiring  the  foreigners  as  rapidly 
as  possible. 

After  a  two  hours'  ride  through  a  level  country 
with  farms  and  graveyards  on  every  side,  I  alighted 
in  Changchow,  a  city  of  200,000  people,  and  was  cor- 
dially received  by  Rev.  J.  C.  Hawk,  who  took  me  at 
once  to  his  home.  Wherever  I  have  gone  since  land- 
ing in  Japan,  six  weeks  ago,  there  has  always  been 
some  one  to  deliver  me  to  the  train  or  boat  and  some 

96 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

one  to  receive  me  at  my  destination.  The  experience 
is  novel,  but  by  no  means  unpleasant.  This  was  my 
first  contact  with  our  own  mission  work  outside  of 
Shanghai.  Rev.  R.  A.  Parker,  who  is  in  charge  of 
the  work  in  Changchow,  was  in  Shanghai  seeing  his 
brother,  Dr.  A.  P.  Parker,  off  to  America ;  but  he  and 
his  family  and  Miss  Ella  D.  Leveritt  came  up  in  the 
afternoon.  I  saw  the  city,  its  narrow  streets,  its  in- 
teresting shops,  its  ancient  wall,  and  its  great  temple. 
The  missionary  was  recognized  by  the  Buddhist  priests 
in  the  temple  and  shown  every  courtesy.  We  were 
admitted  to  the  living  rooms  of  the  priests  and  made 
welcome  to  every  place  that  we  chose  to  enter.  But 
Buddhist  priests,  as  a  rule,  are  ignorant  men.  Many 
of  them  do  not  know  even  the  origin  of  their  own 
faith.  Were  they  converted  to  Christianity,  they 
would  necessarily  be  wards  of  the  Church.  They 
were  taken  as  children  into  the  temple,  have  always 
lived  there  and  performed  a  perfunctory  temple  serv- 
ice, and  would  be  helpless  if  turned  out  into  the 
world.  They  could  not  be  teachers  of  Christianity. 
They  receive  very  little  consideration  or  respect  from 
the  people,  and  are  only  used  in  the  ceremonies  which 
certain  occasions  demand.  Buddhism  may  have  some 
teachers  in  China,  but  the  priests  do  not  hold  that 
position.  The  temple — one  of  the  finest  in  the  em- 
pire— is  filled  with  numerous  immense  statues  of  the 
Buddha.  Behind  the  altar  is  a  gigantic  piece  of 
stucco  work,  fifty  feet  high  and  thirty  feet  wide,  in 
which  are  figures  representing  the  various  stages  of 
life  in  which  a  man  may  live,  according  to  the  teach- 
ing of  Buddhism.  It  is  an  ingenious  work,  hardly 
artistic,  but  instructive  to  the  devout,-  who  blindly 
7  97 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

grope  after  the  truth  of  life  and  the  hope  of  a  blissful 
destiny. 

Changchow  is  a  prefectural  city — that  is,  the  capital 
of  a  large  district.  Our  missionaries  are  the  only  for- 
eigners in  the  city.  At  first  they  received  the  oppro- 
brious title  of  "foreign  devils;"  but  now  more  consid- 
eration is  shown  them,  and  the  outlook  of  their  work 
is  quite  encouraging.  Changchow  needs  a  plant  con- 
sisting of  a  church  building,  a  school  building,  and  a 
home  for  the  missionaries.  They  live  in  a  Chinese 
house — the  only  missionaries  of  our  Church  in  China 
who  are  not  furnished  with  a  comfortable  foreign 
house.  But  these  faithful  men  and  women  are  will- 
ing to  deny  themselves  the  comforts  of  a  foreign 
home  in  order  to  secure  a  suitable  church  for  their 
work.  At  present  they  hold  all  religious  services  in 
a  small  chapel  which  is  nothing  more  than  the  recep- 
tion room  of  a  Chinese  house.  The  Holston  Confer- 
ence has  subscribed  enough  money  to  purchase  a  lot. 
Who  or  what  Church  or  what  district  or  what  Con- 
ference will  build  a  memorial  church  in  Changchow 
at  an  expense  of  only  $5,cxx)  to  $7,000?  The  Cen- 
tral Church  in  Shanghai  was  built  several  years  ago 
by  the  late  Mr.  L.  R.  Moore,  of  Kansas  City.  Has 
Changchow  such  a  friend?  The  future  will  fully 
demonstrate  the  wisdom  of  such  an  investment  of  the 
Lord's  money. 

Again  I  was  delivered  to  the  train  with  ticket  in 
hand;  and  I  bade  good-by  to  the  dear  friends  in 
Changchow,  the  memory  of  whose  kindness  will  lin- 
ger as  a  benediction.  The  forty-five  miles  were  soon 
traveled ;  and  I  stepped  from  the  train  at  Soochow, 
to  be  received  by  that  faithful  missionary,  the  beloved 

98 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

physician,  Dr.  W.  H.  Park.  According  to  the  reck- 
oning of  the  Chinese,  he  became  an  "old  gentleman" 
less  than  a  year  ago,  when  they  celebrated  with  elab- 
orate ceremonies  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  his  birth. 
But  he  is  not  an  old  man  in  any  sense  of  the  word, 
and  his  twenty-six  years  as  a  missionary  in  China 
have  prepared  him  for  even  more  distinguished  serv- 
ice in  the  next  quarter  of  a  century,  which  it  is  ear- 
nestly hoped  may  be  granted  him.  The  station  is  a 
mile  from  the  gate  of  the  city,  just  as  most  of  the 
stations  on  this  road,  and  the  missionary  compound 
is  outside  of  the  wall  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  city. 
So,  as  the  streets  are  too  narrow  and  rough  for  jin- 
rikishas,  the  only  hope  of  comfortable  travel  was  the 
sedan  chair.  That  was  my  first  experience  in  the 
chair  borne  on  the  shoulders  of  two  or  four  men. 
It  was  rather  disturbing  to  my  democratic  spirit. 
There  is  too  much  of  the  Old  World '  spirit  in  being 
borne  by  other  men.  It  was  bad  enough  to  be  drawn 
by  a  man  in  a  jinrikisha;  but  when  it  came  to  being 
carried  on  the  shoulders  of  men  whom  Christianity 
has  taught  me  to  call  brethren,  the  whole  democratic 
nature,  with  its  training  of  three  free  American  cen- 
turies, absolutely  rebelled.  But  I  rode  on  the  men 
and  my  conscience,  and  was  soon  welcomed  to  the 
home  of  Dr.  Park  by  his  wife,  the  daughter  of  that 
great  sainted  missionary.  Dr.  J.  W.  Lambuth,  and  sis- 
ter of  the  efiicient  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Mis- 
sions. A  talk  at  the  prayer  meeting  of  our  own  mis- 
sionaries on  Saturday  night  and  a  sermon  on  Sunday 
afternoon  to  an  audience  composed  of  the  missiona- 
ries of  the  Baptist,  Presbyterian,  Episcopal,  and  Meth- 
odist Churches  gave  me  an  opportunity  to  meet  all 

99 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

the  servants  of  the  Christian  Church  in  Soochow. 
While  the  results  of  the  missionary  labors  in  this 
great  city  of  500,000  people  are  not  extraordinary,  yet 
they  are  gratifying. 

I  was  greatly  pleased  with  our  plant  in  Soochow. 
Dr.  W.  H.  Park  and  his  colaborers  have  built  up  a 
hospital  which  is  a  great  credit  to  our  Church.  He 
and  his  staff  treated  more  than  20,000  cases  last  year 
and  performed  about  three  hundred  surgical  opera- 
tions. He  has  associated  with  him  some  most  ex- 
cellent Chinese  physicians  whom  he  has  trained.  He 
has  calls  continually  to  the  best  families  in  Soochow. 
By  this  outside  practice  he  makes  fifteen  to  twenty- 
five  dollars  cash  a  day,  which  he  turns  over  to  the 
hospital  fund.  Friends  of  the  hospital  among  the 
Chinese  send  in  each  year  several  hundred  dollars  in 
donations  because  of  their  interest  in  the  work  of 
healing  which  the  hospital  is  doing.  Some  buildings 
have  been  erected  with  the  funds  which  have  come 
in  through  these  channels.  The  reception  room  for 
the  patients  or  visitors  who  are  waiting  to  see  pa- 
tients is  a  chapel,  and  the  chaplain  preaches  to  the 
people  while  they  wait  to  be  served.  The  mission- 
aries use  the  opportunity  of  preaching  privately  which 
the  wards  aflFord.  Practically  what  is  said  of  Dr. 
Park's  hospital  can  be  said  of  the  Mary  Black  Memo- 
rial Hospital,  which  adjoins  it.  That  Kentucky  wom- 
an, Dr.  Margaret  H.  Polk,  is  doing  a  great  work,  and 
her  hospital  is  a  heavenly  blessing  to  the  sick  women 
of  Soochow.  The  Bible  women  do  for  the  patients 
in  the  woman's  hospital  what  the  chaplain  and  preach- 
ers do  in  the  other  institution.  Only  a  vacant  lot 
separates   this   hospital   from   the   old   First   Church, 

100 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

which  should  be  supplanted  by  a  new  First  Church  in 
keeping  with  the  surrounding  buildings  as  well  as 
with  the  needs  of  the  large  and  growing  congrega- 
tion. Just  beyond  the  church  is  the  Laura  Haygood 
School  for  Girls.  The  two  new  buildings  are  very 
beautiful ;  and  the  third,  which  is  in  course  of  erec- 
tion, is  just  as  beautiful.  There  are  about  sixty  young 
women  in  attendance.  The  fine  plant  has  equipment 
for  doing  a  great  work. 

Soochow  University  has  an  elegant  and  commo- 
dious main  building,  with  excellent  class  rooms  well 
furnished,  good  laboratories,  comfortable  offices,  and 
as  good  a  dormitory  as  is  possessed  by  any  institution 
of  our  Church.  There  is  a  pressing  need  just  now 
of  more  dormitory  facilities,  as  the  rooms  will  accom- 
modate only  two  hundred  pupils  and  the  enrollment 
reached  two  hundred  and  thirty-three  last  year.  Ap- 
plicants for  admission  must  be  denied  because  of  the 
lack  of  room  in  the  dormitory.  Boarding  in  the  city 
is  impossible,  and  so  the  attendance  must  be  limited 
to  the  dormitory  space.  The  homes  for  the  Presi- 
dent and  two  professors  are  entirely  satisfactory,  but 
there  is  need  for  homes  for  other  members  of  the 
faculty.  The  campus  is  not  large,  but  very  beautiful. 
The  friends  of  Dr.  Park  have  recently  built  a  water 
tower  on  the  campus ;  and  as  soon  as  some  funds  are 
furnished  to  lay  the  pipes,  the  University,  the  Laura 
Haygood  School,  and  the  two  hospitals  will  be  sup- 
plied with  good  artesian  water.  The  institution  is  in 
high  favor  with  the  Chinese,  and  it  is  recognized  by 
foreigners  and  natives  as  one  of  the  best  institutions 
in  the  empire.  At  the  recent  commencement,  when 
the  first  graduate  was  given  his  degree,  the  Viceroy 

101 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

sent  a  personal  representative  from  Nanking  to  speak 
words  of  appreciation.  The  government  will  un- 
doubtedly give  the  institution  public  recognition  as 
soon  as  the  President  lays  its  claims  before  the  Vice- 
roy. If  the  proper  high  standard  is  maintained,  Soo- 
chow  University  will  soon  hold  an  enviable  place  in 
the  esteem  of  the  higher  classes  of  China.  With  such 
a  plant  the  Church  has  a  right  to  expect  great  re- 
sults in  its  work  of  Christianizing  the  Chinese.  At 
present  only  twenty  of  the  two  hundred  young  men 
are  Christians.  This  gives  a  large  field  for  the  mis- 
sionaries whose  primary  object  is  the  conversion  of 
these  young  men  to  Christianity  and  a  personal  faith 
in  Jesus  Christ.  No  superiority  of  equipment  or  in- 
struction can  atone  for  any  lack  in  the  results  of  the 
true  missionary  labors.  The  Church  may  well  rely 
on  the  men  who  now  have  this  important  matter  in 
charge. 

The  Davidson  Memorial  Industrial  and  Bible  School, 
in  the  western  portion  of  the  city,  is  doing  a  mag- 
nificent work.  About  eighty  girls  are  in  the  school, 
and  many  of  these  support  themselves  entirely  or  in 
part  by  their  work  in  the  Industrial  School.  Forty 
women  of  mature  age  spend  each  day  in  the  work- 
room in  making  fine  embroidery  and  doing  other  high- 
grade  needlework.  These  women  are  paid  wages,  and 
the  school  sells  the  articles  made.  Each  morning 
these  M'omen  have  a  Bible  lesson,  and  as  a  result  the 
most  of  them  are  now  Christians.  Day  schools  are 
conducted  in  the  neighborhood  in  connection  with  this 
institution.  The  West  Soochow  Church  adjoins  the 
school,  and  its  three  hundred  seats  are  taken  at  the 
services  each  Sunday.    The  institution  and  the  Church 

102 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

are  meeting  with  most  gratifying  results  in  this  com- 
munity. Most  of  the  people  who  are  reached  are  poor, 
but  with  just  such  persons  Methodism  and  Christian- 
ity had  their  beginning. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  has  seven- 
ty-two missionaries  in  China,  counting  the  twenty- 
two  wives  and  the  three  women  who  are  employed  as 
special  teachers  in  our  schools.  Of  the  seventy-two, 
thirty-one  live  in  Soochow,  fifteen  in  Shanghai,  eleven 
in  Huchow,  ten  in  Sungkiang,  and  five  in  Changchow. 
The  five  cities  are  quite  accessible  to  each  other,  as 
Soochow  and  Changchow  are  on  the  railroad  that  runs 
north  from  Shanghai,  Soochow  being  fifty-three  miles 
from  Shanghai,  and  Changchow  being  only  fifty  miles 
from  Soochow.  Sungkiang  is  only  twenty-five  miles 
from  Shanghai,  and  the  two  cities  are  connected  by  a 
railroad.  Canals  connect  Huchow  with  Soochow  and 
also  with  Sungkiang  and  Shanghai,  and  the  distance 
of  eighty  and  one  hundred  miles  can  be  covered  by 
the  launches  in  eight  or  ten  hours.  So  the  work  of 
our  mission  is  in  a  compact  territory  and  has  very 
few  physical  difficulties  in  the  way  of  travel.  The 
Conference  has,  besides  the  eighteen  missionary 
preachers,  twenty-two  native  preachers.  Some  local 
Chinese  preachers  are  also  employed  by  the  presiding 
elders.  Every  congregation  in  China  has  a  Chinese 
pastor.  The  missionary  puts  the  responsibility  of  ev- 
ery work  on  the  native  as  soon  as  possible.  This 
seems  very  sensible.  The  sooner  the  Chinese  feel  that' 
the  responsibility  for  the  conversion  of  their  people 
must  depend  upon  them,  the  quicker  will  Christianity 
reach  the  great  empire.  The  Chinese  are  naturally 
the  best  pastors  and  preachers  for  their  people.     It  is 

103 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

very  gratifying  to  know  that  some  of  those  who  now 
fill  the  pulpits  are  regarded  by  the  missionaries  as 
strong  preachers,  and  their  sermons  are  heard  with 
as  much  interest  by  the  foreigner  as  by  the  native. 

The  presiding  elders  occupy  an  important  position  in 
China,  as  they  are  really  the  superintendents  of  all  the 
points  and  preachers  in  their  charges.  They  are  the 
leaders  in  the  missions,  and  have  very  much  to  do  with 
the  progress  of  all  evangelistic  work.  From  the  mo- 
ment I  reached  China  till  I  set  sail  these  men  showed 
me  every  courtesy  and  were  always  glad  to  talk  of  the 
great,  work  committed  to  their  hands.  They  took 
charge  of  me  at  their  points  and  showed  me  fully  the 
work  of  the  missions.  Dr.  J.  B.  Fearn  was  kind  enough 
to  offer  to  accompany  me  from  Soochow  to  Huchow, 
thence  to  Sungkiang,  and  on  to  Shanghai.  Of  course 
I  accepted  his  offer  because  I  was  glad  to  have  the 
benefit  of  his  fellowship  and  I  wanted  to  see  all  our 
missionaries  in  China — and  I  saw  them. 

On  Monday  this  Shanghai  presiding  elder  appeared 
at  the  missionary  compound  in  Soochow  on  a  donkey 
— a  six-foot-two-inches,  two-hundred-pound  man  on  a 
three-foot,  inconsequential  son  of  stupidity.  I  mount- 
ed the  mate,  and  we  rode  off,  much  to  the  merriment 
of  the  good  missionaries  who  were  out  to  bid  us  fare- 
well. A  man  will  ride  anything  in  China,  from  a  "one- 
hoss  shay"  to  a  wheelbarrow.  However,  a  trotting 
donkey  three  feet  long  will  give  satisfaction  quickest. 
We  dismounted  at  the  Customhouse,  an  institution 
that  is  controlled  and  administered  everywhere  in 
China  by  the  British  government.  England  has  her 
way  of  collecting  debts  in  the  East  and  at  the  same 
time  furnishing  employment  for  a  vast  army  of  her 

104 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

sons.  The  Britisher  is  in  evidence  everywhere  in  the 
Orient,  but  he  is  seldom  known  to  break  down  from 
overwork.  He  thinks  the  American's  strenuosity  is 
"very  funny."  While  we  stood  talking  to  a  young 
Englishman,  a  small  Japanese  launch  steamed  up  from 
the  Japanese  concession,  a  half  mile  below.  The  Jap- 
anese have  learned  the  tricks  of  the  foreign  nations, 
and  so  at  the  close  of  the  China- Japan  War  they  de- 
manded concessions.  Japan  is  losing  the  friendship 
of  some  nations  by  copying  their  tricks  in  the  Orient. 
She  has  had  examples  in  almost  all  that  she  is  doing 
over  here,  and  her  aptness  as  a  pupil  has  alarmed  some 
of  her  competitors.  Even  her  steamers  are  plying  all 
the  rivers  and  canals  in  China  that  are  open  to  other 
nations.  The  launch  was  escorted  by  a  Chinese  gun- 
boat to  protect  the  passengers  from  the  bands  of 
pirates  that  have  recently  been  committing  outrages 
on  the  canals  that  we  were  to  travel.  Sometimes  the 
canals  are  only  twenty-five  to  thirty  feet  wide,  and 
robbers  would  have  no  trouble  in  boarding  the  small 
boats.  While  the  gunboat  might  have  been  consid- 
ered an  object  of  ridicule,  yet  its  presence  under  the 
circumstances  was  by  no  means  despised.  The  launch 
not  only  carried  passengers,  but  it  towed  a  barge  with 
accommodations  for  passengers  and  a  half  dozen  pri- 
vate house  boats.  We  took  the  best  accommodations 
on  the  barge,  which  were  called  first-class ;  while  many 
Chinese  were  in  or  on  the  other  part  of  the  barge. 
As  the  banks  of  the  canals  were  not  more  than  five 
or  six  feet  high,  it  was  very  easy  to  stand  on  the 
barge  and  see  the  whole  surrounding  country.  The 
farms  and  the  graveyards  were  on  either  side.  In- 
stead of  having  great  fields  in  those  level  tracts  of 

105 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

land,  the  acres  were  divided  into  garden  plots  and 
farmed  minutely  for  two  crops  a  year.  At  many  points 
we  found  the  farmers  dredging  the  canals  for  muck  to 
put  on  their  little  farms.  The  canals  furnish  the  fer- 
tilizer and  the  water  for  irrigation.  The  Grand  Canal, 
running  as  it  does  from  Tien-tsin  to  Southern  China, 
has  furnished,  with  its  great  network  of  smaller  canals, 
the  greatest  facilities  for  travel,  for  marketing  their 
products,  and  for  meeting  the  requirements  of  their 
homes  and  their  industries  to  the  vast  millions  of  this 
great  country. 

At  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  (the  Chinese  eating 
time)  on  the  center  table  in  the  cabin  were  placed 
bowls  of  vegetables,  cut  meat  cooked  in  a  stew,  and 
other  dishes ;  and  each  passenger  was  supplied  with 
a  bowl  of  rice  and  two  chopsticks.  The  two  China- 
men and  the  presiding  elder  crossed  chopsticks  in  the 
common  bowl ;  but  the  stranger  remembered  that  good 
Mrs.  Park  had  prepared  for  him  a  lunch  of  agreeable 
American  cooking,  and  he  chose  the  cold  supper  rather 
than  the  uncertainty  in  the  warm  one.  The  Chinese 
do  not  use  butter  or  lard  in  cooking,  but  an  oil  made 
from  millet  and  beans.  This  gives  all  food  a  strange 
flavor.  They  put  in  other  seasoning  which  is  not  al- 
ways agreeable  to  the  palate  of  the  foreigner.  When 
night  came  on.  Dr.  Fearn  brought  out  two  handbags 
and  took  from  them  two  beds,  which  he  threw  on 
the  bunks.  We  slept  comfortably  until  one  o'clock, 
when  we  reached  Huchow,  where  we  transferred  to 
the  house  boat  of  Rev.  J.  L.  Hendry,  in  which  we 
concluded  the  night's  repose. 

The  missionaries  had  learned  of  our  coming,  and 
had  come  from  their  evangelistic  labors  on  their  cir- 

106 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

ciiits.  Rev.  T.  A.  Hearn,  the  presiding  elder,  is  lead- 
ing a  most  successful  campaign  in  the  Huchow  Dis- 
trict. He  baptized  and  received  into  the  Church  a 
score  the  week  before  our  arrival.  Rev.  J.  L.  Hendry 
and  his  wife  had  returned  from  a  two  weeks'  service 
from  which  twenty-five  were  received  into  the  Church. 
Rev.  E.  Pilley  was  meeting  with  similar  success  on 
his  circuit.  The  fact  is,  the  reports  of  these  brethren 
thrilled  me  as  nothing  else  which  I  had  heard  or 
seen  in  China.  The  Huchow  District  was  organized 
six  years  ago  with  a  few  members  at  Huchow,  and 
now  the  district  reports  more  than  1,000  communi- 
cants, or  more  than  one-fourth  of  the  entire  Chinese 
membership.  Its  progress  has  been  made  almost  en- 
tirely through  the  evangelistic  work.  By  the  "foolish- 
ness of  preaching"  St.  Paul  expected  the  world  to 
be  converted  to  Christ.  In  China  the  greatest  ingath- 
erings have  been  in  those  provinces  (especially  Che- 
kiang  and  Fu-kien)  where  the  emphasis  has  been  laid 
upon  the  evangelistic  work.  The  majority  of  our  mis- 
sionaries in  China  are  in  educational  work;  and  some 
of  our  men  who  have  felt  the  call  to  preach  and  are 
regularly  ordained  ministers  have  never  had  the  priv- 
ilege of  doing  regular  ministerial  work  any  more  than 
preachers  who  are  teaching  in  any  of  our  Church 
schools  are  given  that  privilege.  This  is  due  to  the 
fact  that  the  schools  had  to  be  cared  for;  and  after 
they  received  the  indispensable  number  of  men,  there 
were  not  many  left  for  the  evangelistic  work.  The 
work  of  the  schools  is  as  much  missionary  and  is  as 
necessary  as  the  preaching,  but  no  more  so.  The  edu- 
cational force  should  n6t  be  diminished  by  a  single 
man;  on  the  contrary,  it  should  be  increased.     But 

107 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

there  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  evangelistic  force 
should  receive  reenforcement  until  it  is  at  least  as 
strong  as  the  educational  force.  Some  of  the  Church- 
es are  solving  this  problem  in  part  by  employing  young 
laymen  for  the  schools  and  thereby  releasing  some  of 
the  preachers  for  the  evangelistic  work.  In  our  Soo- 
chow  University  we  have  five  young  laymen  as  teach- 
ers. The  question  as  to  how  these  matters  should  be 
adjusted,  no  man,  unless  exceedingly  wise,  on  a  visit 
of  three  weeks  would  be  able  to  decide ;  but  that  the 
Church  at  home  should  send  out  to  China  at  once  a 
half  dozen  men  for  the  evangelistic  work  or  for  the 
schools,  so  that  men  might  be  released,  there  can  be 
very  little  doubt.  The  reason  that  they  have  not  been 
sent  already  is  that  the  Church  has  not  supplied  the 
funds.  The  Board  cannot  supply  men  unless  the 
Church  contributes  the  money.  The  man  who  can 
preach  the  gospel  in  Chinese  to-day  has  the  highest 
privilege  given  to  man  in  these  opening  years  of  the 
twentieth  century.  The  man  who  has  a  genuine  mes- 
sage and  can  deliver  it  with  power  will  have  as  sym- 
pathetic and  appreciative  an  audience  in  China  as  he 
will  find  in  the  United  States,  and  the  results  of  his 
preaching  will  be  just  as  gratifying. 

My  visit  to  Huchow  was  full  of  interest.  Besides 
the  preachers  mentioned,  whose  courtesies  and  the 
kindness  of  whose  wives  were  greatly  appreciated,  I 
found  Miss  Clara  E.  Steger,  Miss  Emma  Steger,  of 
Missouri,  Miss  Mary  Lou  White,  of  Virginia,  and 
Miss  Lochie  Rankin,  of  Tennessee,  all  enthusiastic 
over  their  work,  I  felt  like  making  the  full  quota  of 
Chinese  bows  to  Miss  Rankin,  the  first  missionary  of 
the  Woman's  Board.     She  is  busily  engaged  in  her 

108 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

loved  employ — that  of  conducting  a  girls'  day  school. 
Many  a  wayfarer  has  found  the  way  by  the  torch 
which  she  has  kept  lighted.  The  young  women  are 
happy  in  their  beautiful  home,  built  by  the  ladies  of 
the  Tennessee  Conference ;  while  they  have  every  con- 
venience and  comfort  in  the  elegant  school  building, 
built  by  the  women  of  Virginia.  The  Woman's  Board 
has  built  wisely  and  well  everywhere  in  the  China 
Mission,  and  the  work  of  their  schools  is  prosperous. 
The  boys'  school,  under  the  principalship  of  Rev.  W. 
A.  Estes,  needs  a  building  very  much.  Huchow  should 
have  a  church  building  at  the  earliest  possible  moment. 
If  the  plans  of  those  who  have  labored  in  this  city  of 
100,000  people  are  carried  out,  we  will  soon  have  a 
great  plant  in  one  of  the  most  fruitful  sections  in 
which  we  have  work.  The  people  are  responsive  to 
the  gospel.  When  I  arrived,  I  was  told  that  a  meet- 
ing had  been  arranged  for  the  afternoon,  when  I 
would  meet  some  of  the  people.  I  supposed  that  the 
missionaries  would  be  present  and  a  few  Chinese  help- 
ers. To  my  surprise,  when  I  arrived  I  found  the 
chapel  crowded  with  more  than  three  hundred  Chi- 
nese. Rev.  T.  A.  Hearn  acted  as  interpreter,  and  I 
spoke  as  long  as  regard  for  my  patient  audience 
would  allow.  The  attention  and  order  were  as  good 
as  would  be  secured  in  a  mixed  audience  of  men, 
women,  and  children  in  America.  I  left  Huchow 
feeling  greatly  encouraged  with  the  outlook  of  our 
work  in  China  and  with  the  determination  to  do  what 
I  could  to  send  more  evangelists  to  this  great  field. 

The  Huchow  presiding  elder  is  building  a  new  "eld- 
erage,"  and  he  had  to  go  to  Shanghai  for  material. 
So  Dr.  Fearn  and  I  got  into  his  house  boat  with  him, 

109 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

and  we  were  towed  down  the  canal  to  Sungkiang, 
where  we  stopped  for  a  day.  Rev.  H.  T.  Reed  aroused 
us  from  our  comfortable  slumbers,  and  we  went  at 
once  to  his  home  for  breakfast  and  then  to  the  boys' 
school  which  he  is  conducting.  Out  of  the  sixty  boys, 
twelve  have  already  signified  their  intention  of  becom- 
ing m.inisters.  This  is  very  encouraging,  as  the  men 
who  are  in  the  end  to  reach  China  are  the  Chinese; 
and  unless  our  schools  supply  the  ministry,  we  can- 
not hope  for  any  great  advancement  of  Christianity. 
The  old  Buffington  College  produced  most  of  the 
Chinese  preachers  now  in  the  Conference,  and  its 
work  can  never  be  too  highly  appreciated.  The  lack 
of  ministerial  candidates  in  our  two  principal  schools 
is  the  chief  cause  for  discouragement  regarding  our 
future  work.  However,  the  missionaries  are  all  awake 
to  this  condition,  and  they  are  making  special  efforts 
to  secure  men  for  the  ministry.  The  boys'  school  at 
Sungkiang  is  doing  fine  work.  Principal  Reed  is  be- 
ing assisted  by  Rev.  George  R.  Loehr.  Miss  Waters, 
Miss  King,  and  Miss  Peacock  are  delighted  with  their 
beautiful  new  Susan  B.  Wilson  Girls'  School.  Mrs. 
Gaither  is  busy  with  her  work  in  the  Bible  Woman's 
School  and  with  the  superintendence  of  the  new 
Hayes- Wilkins  building,  which  is  in  course  of  erection. 
I  greatly  enjoyed  my  visit  to  Sungkiang,  and  was 
much  pleased  with  the  outlook  of  the  work  there. 
We  had  planned  to  leave  in  the  afternoon  on  the 
house  boat  for  Shanghai,  to  be  rowed  by  the  oars- 
men ;  but  Dr.  Fearn  reported  that  a  work  train  would 
leave  about  two  o'clock  for  Shanghai,  and  that  he 
had  secured  permission  for  our  traveling  on  it.  We 
hurried  to  the  station,  but  found  that  the  train  was 

110 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

not  going,  but  that  a  hand  car  would  take  a  civil  en- 
gineer to  Shanghai,  and  that  we  could  go  along.  We 
went — four  hours,  twenty-five  miles,  cold,  damp, 
home.    All  was  well. 

Ill 


CHAPTER  X. 
The  Chinese  in  Life  and  Customs. 

THE  American's  ignorance  of  China  brings  no 
blush  to  his  cheek  nor  twinge  to  his  conscience. 
He  may  know  that  the  modern  Chinaman  can  boast 
of  a  history  that  antedates  Babylon,  Nineveh,  Egypt, 
and  Israel ;  yet  that  history,  as  a  rule,  makes  no  ap- 
peal to  him.  The  names  of  emperors  and  dynasties, 
generals,  statesmen,  and  literary  celebrities,  cities,  riv- 
ers, and  provinces  have  no  place  in  his  mind,  and  he 
thinks  of  them  as  unpronounceable  and  as  not  meant 
to  be  remembered  by  him.  So  China  and  the  Chinese 
do  not  take  hold  on  the  American  mind,  and  conse- 
quently not  greatly  on  the  American  sympathy.  The 
laundryman  and  the  coolie  on  the  Pacific  Coast  fur- 
nish to  most  Americans  their  conception  of  the  great 
people  of  the  Orient.  The  United  States  has  forty- 
six  States  and  some  Territories,  differing  in  size,  prod- 
ucts, climate,  and  inhabitants.  China  has  eighteen 
States  or  Provinces  in  China  proper,  three  States  in 
Manchuria,  and  also  Mongolia  and  Tibet.  The  eight- 
teen  States  vary  in  size  from  36,670  square  miles  to 
216,480  square  miles,  and  in  population  from  5,142,- 
000  to  69,000,000.  The  whole  population  of  the  Unit- 
ed States  could  be  put  in  Texas,  and  the  population 
would  be  no  more  dense  than  that  of  Szechuen,  the 
largest  Province  of  China.  China  proper  has  an  area 
of  1,532,420  square  miles  and  a  population  of  407,- 
331,000  people.     A  native  of   China  proper  only  is 

112 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

called  a  Chinese.  When  it  is  remembered  that  the 
railroad  is  still  limited  to  a  thousand  miles,  that  travel 
on  the  great  rivers  by  steamer  will  reach  only  a  small 
territory,  that  travel  by  canals  must  necessarily  be 
slow,  and  that  there  are  no  public  roads  in  the  em- 
pire, one  can  readily  see  that  several  months  would 
be  required  to  reach  any  very  large  part  of  this  in- 
teresting country.  Notwithstanding  certain  restric- 
tions to  communication  between  different  parts  of  the 
empire,  the  Chinese  may  be  said  to  be  a  homogeneous 
people.  The  habits  of  to-day  were  in  large  measure 
the  habits  of  these  people  two  thousand  years  ago. 
The  fact  is,  Chinese  history  is  uninteresting  because 
it  is  not  a  record  of  progress  or  regress.  The  wars 
and  conquests  may  give  the  people  new  rulers ;  but 
the  conquerors  have  always  been  assimilated  by  the 
conquered,  and  China  remains  the  same.  Any  radical 
changes  made  in  the  customs  of  life  or  government 
would  be  a  gross  impeachment  of  the  revered  ances- 
try. So  when  any  section  of  China  is  thoroughly 
studied,  a  very  good  idea  of  the  whole  people  and 
their  habits  of  life  may  be  obtained.  However,  that 
does  not  mean  that  one  may  get  a  full  understanding 
of  the  Chinaman.  The  Chinaman  is  understood  fully 
only  by  himself,  and  there  is  some  doubt  as  to  his 
ability  in  that  direction. 

Captain  Brinkley,  the  distinguished  editor  of  the 
Japan  Mail  at  Yokohama,  has  said :  "No  other  nation 
with  which  the  world  is  acquainted  has  been  so  con- 
stantly true  to  itself;  no  other  nation  has  preserved 
its  type  so  unaltered ;  no  other  nation  has  developed  a 
civilization  so  completely  independent  of  any  extra- 
neous influences;  no  other  nation  has  elaborated  its 
8  113 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

own  idea  in  such  absolute  segregation  from  alien 
thoughts;  no  other  nation  has  preserved  the  long 
stream  of  its  literature  so  entirely  free  from  foreign 
affluents;  no  other  nation  has  ever  reached  a  moral 
and  national  elevation  comparatively  so  high  above 
the  heads  of  contemporary  states."  The  Chinese  have 
always  divided  the  universe  into  two  parts :  the  heaven 
above,  and  China,  or  all  under  heaven.  The  Emperor 
has  always  been  the  son  of  heaven.  The  contempt  for 
foreigners  which  the  Chinese  have  manifested  and 
which  they  manifest  yet  in  many  quarters — for  for- 
eigners are  only  tolerated  and  never  welcomed — is  due 
to  their  conceit  as  to  their  own  position  in  the  uni- 
verse. To  admit  foreigners  to  any  consideration  was 
indeed  a  grievous  concession  for  these  Celestials. 
When  General  Gordon  defeated  the  Taiping  rebels 
at  Changchow  and  Soochow  after  they  had  been  emi- 
nently successful  against  the  Chinese,  Li  Hung  Chang 
realized  for  the  first  time  that  foreigners  had  some 
elements  of  superiority.  The  hardest  lesson  which  the 
Chinese  have  been  compelled  to  learn  is  the  quality 
of  the  foreigner  in  some  things  and  even  his  supe- 
riority in  certain  other  things. 

The  Chinese  do  not  want  to  take  lessons  from  the 
foreigner,  and  their  cry  to-day  is :  "China  for  the  Chi- 
nese !"  China  may  thirst  for  Western  learning,  but 
she  desires  to  drink  it  from  her  own  fountains.  She 
is  willing  to  build  railroads  and  inaugurate  modern 
enterprises ;  but  she  prefers  to  have  them  owned,  con- 
trolled, and  run  entirely  by  Chinese.  The  concessions 
which  have  been  made  to  British,  American,  or  Ger- 
man companies  have  been  or  are  being  bought  back, 
so  that  the  foreigner  may  not  have  any  interest  in  her 
'  114 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

great  commercial  enterprises.  The  same  spirit  is  ex- 
hibited in  a  degree  toward  the  Christianity  which  for- 
eigners are  trying  to  propagate.  There  is  no  serious 
objection  to  Christianity  in  itself;  but  the  Chinese  re- 
gard it  as  a  foreigner's  religion,  and  they  are  inclined 
to  cling  to  the  religion  of  their  own  country.  The  Box- 
er movement  was  not  aimed  at  Christianity  except  so 
far  as  it  was  the  religion  of  the  foreigner.  There  is 
no  country  in  the  world  to-day  that  would  be  more 
open  to  Christianity  than  China  if  the  foreign  feature 
could  be  eliminated.  But  on  account  of  this  age-long 
sentiment  against  foreigners,  the  greatest  obstacle  to 
the  progress  of  Christianity  in  the  Celestial  Empire 
is  the  fact  that  its  propagators  must  be  foreigners 
until  a  native  ministry  is  produced.  The  benefit  of 
such  an  institution  as  the  International  Institute, 
founded  and  directed  by  Dr.  Gilbert  Reid,  whose  pri- 
mary object  is  the  promotion  of  fellowship  between 
foreigners  and  high-class  Chinese,  can  be  readily  seen. 
This  condition  will  explain  the  wonderful  work  which 
has  been  done  by  Dr.  Young  J.  Allen,  Dr.  Timothy 
Richard,  and  their  associates  in  their  Society  for  the 
Diffusion  of  Knowledge.  The  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian Association  is  also  accomplishing  inestimable  good 
by  relating  the  young  men  of  China  with  the  young 
men  of  other  nations.  Anything  that  will  break  down 
the  sentiment  against  foreigners  will  clear  the  way  for 
Christianity  and  at  the  same  time  open  the  door  for 
the  learning  of  the  present  day. 

China  is  suffering  greatly  from  misrule.  The  gov- 
ernment is  defective  in  very  much,  and  bad  in  its 
whole  system  and  administration.  From  a  financial 
standpoint  it  is  the  greatest  system  of  graft  which  the 

115 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

world  has  ever  known.  The  head  of  the  government 
is  the  Emperor,  who  is  the  appointee  of  his  prede- 
cessor. Every  Emperor  is  apt  to  appoint  his  son,  but 
he  may  appoint  some  one  else.  All  places  in  the  em- 
pire are  at  his  disposal.  Viceroys  are  appointed  over 
certain  territories  which  may  comprise  one,  two,  or 
three  provinces.  There  are  seven  or  eight  viceroy- 
alties  in  the  empire.  Over  each  of  the  provinces  is 
appointed  a  governor.  Over  a  circuit  in  a  province 
is  placed  a  taotai.  The  circuit  is  composed  of  two, 
three,  or  four  prefectures,  and  the  prefectures  are 
made  up  of  magistracies.  The  magistrate,  the  prefect, 
the  taotai,  the  governor,  and  the  viceroy  make  up  the 
five  grades  of  appointments.  There  are  thirteen  hun- 
dred magisterial  districts,  one  hundred  and  eighty  pre- 
fectures, eighty  circuits,  eighteen  provinces.  The 
magistrate  of  a  district  is  invested  with  both  criminal 
and  civil  functions;  he  is  the  keeper  of  prisons,  the 
overseer  of  public  roads,  the  registrar  of  land,  the 
famine  commissioner,  and  the  officer  of  education. 
No  official  could  perform  duties  so  numerous  and  so 
varied  without  assistants,  and  so  he  has  a  large  staff; 
but  he  is  held  responsible  for  the  performance  of  all 
duties.  In  criminal  cases  the  magistrate  is  the  court 
and  the  jury,  as  well  as  the  prosecutor.  If  the  accused 
can  show  sufficient  financial  reasons  why  he  should 
not  be  severely  dealt  with,  the  magistrate  dismisses 
the  case ;  but  if  no  finances  are  forthcoming,  the  mag- 
istrate hears  the  accusations  and  passes  sentence.  In 
case*  of  criminal  offense  the  prisoner  is  made  to  sub- 
mit to  excruciating  tortures  until  he  confesses  his 
guilt,  and  then  he  is  taken  out  and  beheaded.  In  civil 
suits  the  magistrate  hears  one  side  and  receives  what 

116 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

is  given,  and  then  hears  the  other  and  receives  again. 
He  then  hears  the  first  side  and  receives,  and  then 
hears  the  second  side  and  receives.  His  decision  is 
usually  reserved  until,  in  the  language  of  the  auc- 
tioneer, "they  are  all  done,"  and  he  hands  down  his 
decision  much  as  does  the  auctioneer.  Cases  may  be 
appealed  to  the  prefect  and  retried.  He,  however, 
seldom  renders  any  decisions,  but  shifts  such  duties 
to  the  first  assistant  department  magistrate. 

The  administration  of  the  central  government  is  in- 
trusted to  two  councils,  the  Grand  Secretariat  and  the 
Grand  Council.  The  first  has  four  members,  two  Man- 
chus  and  two  Chinese,  with  one  Manchu  and  one 
Chinese  secretary.  As*  aids  there  are  ten  learned  men 
from  Hanlin  College,  with  about  two  hundred  secre- 
taries. The  members  of  the  Grand  Secretariat  sub- 
mit to  the  Emperor  all  papers  relating  to  the  affairs 
of  the  empire,  keep  the  seals  used  by  the  departments, 
and  are  the  officials  whom  the  Emperor  most  frequent- 
ly consults  and  in  whom  he  chiefly  confides.  They 
deliberate  on  the  affairs  of  State,  declare  the  imperial 
will,  and  aid  the  Emperor  in  governing  his  subjects. 
The  Grand  Council  has  five  members  and  about  sixty 
secretaries.  They  are  chosen  from  the  members  of 
the  Grand  Secretariat,  the  presidents  of  boards,  and 
the  principal  officers  of  all  the  courts  in  the  city.  Be- 
fore this  body  the  heads  of  departments  appear  when 
the  Emperor  is  to  be  consulted.  It  has  really  super- 
seded the  older  body  in  business  importance.  Under 
the  two  councils  there  are  six  administrative  boards 
— the  Civil  Board,  Board  of  Revenue,  Board  of  Rites, 
Board  of  War,  Board  of  Punishment,  Board  of  Pub- 
lic Works.    The  Civil  Board  has  jurisdiction  over  the 

117 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

official  class — or  mandarins,  as  they  are  called — ap- 
pointing and  discharging  them,  regulating  their  duties, 
pay,  promotion,  the  assignment  of  work,  and  the 
granting  of  leave.  The  Board  of  Revenue  collects  the 
money  from  the  provinces  and  selects  the  Manchu 
women  who  are  eligible  for  the  imperial  harem.  The 
Board  of  Rites  has  the  supervision  of  the  ceremonial 
and  ritual  observances  which  form  the  distinguishing 
feature  of  the  national  character.  The  ceremony  for 
feast  days,  the  cut  of  a  court  jacket,  the  etiquette 
relating  to  subjects  of  a  military  or  civil  character 
are  all  described  in  the  fourteen  volumes  which  form 
the  statutory  law  of  the  board.  No  act  or  omission 
will  bring  a  Chinese  official  under  censure  so  quickly 
as  carelessness  in  official  ceremony.  The  Board  of 
War  should  be  among  the  first  in  importance,  but  the 
empire  has  done  very  little  in  preparing  for  defense 
against  external  foes.  The  board  appears  to  be  pow- 
erless to  organize  an  effective  army.  This  is  due  in 
large  measure  to  the  peculiar  autonomy  of  the  prov- 
inces, each  having  its  own  military  organization, 
which  it  supports  and  controls  according  to  the  will 
of  its  own  officials.  There  is  no  uniform  system. 
There  is  an  absence  of  cooperation.  In  the  China- 
Japan  War  China  expended  large  sums  on  the  army 
and  navy ;  but  they  were  wholly  ineffectual,  not  be- 
cause military  material  was  wanting  in  the  Chinese 
character,  but  because  there  was  no  organization,  no 
rallying  point  in  the  military  system,  no  one  directing 
mind,  no  confidence  of  the  soldier  in  his  superior 
officers.  China  must  be  unified  before  she  can  ever 
defend  herself  against  any  attacking  force ;  and  that 
means  that  a  new  form  of  central  government  must 

118 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

take  the  place  of  the  present  incompetent,  unsavory, 
despoiHng  system. 

The  Board  of  Punishment  might  be  called  a  court 
of  appeals.  It  works  all  changes  in  the  written  law 
and  the  supplementary  enactments,  prepares  all  new 
editions  of  the  penal  code,  regulates  prisons,  and  col- 
lects fines  on  jailers  and  others.  The  duties  of  the 
Board  of  Public  Works  are  miscellaneous,  but  they 
are  not  well  discharged.  No  city  in  the  world  is  in 
a  worse  sanitary  condition  than  Peking,  where  the 
board  sits.  It  is  easy  to  see  in  traveling  that  no  at- 
tention is  given  to  the  repair  of  the  highways  by 
land  and  water.  The  Grand  Canal,  the  greatest  mon- 
ument of  Chinese  skill  and  industry,  has  been  neg- 
lected to  the  extent  of  greatly  impairing  its  useful- 
ness. The  masonry  has  fallen  away,  and  the  granite 
blocks  have  been  boated  away  and  sold.  The  roads, 
bridges,  and  canals  have  been  shamefully  neglected 
during  the  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  of  the  reign 
of  the  Manchurian  dynasty.  The  whole  empire  suf- 
fers through  the  idea  that  each  province  is  an  inde- 
pendent unit.  The  central  government  refuses  to  in- 
terfere, except  when  in  a  critical  mood,  with  the  edu- 
cational, fiscal,  penal,  judicial  work,  or  any  public 
improvements  in  a  province.  As  the  provincial  offi- 
cials are  concerned  only  for  themselves,  the  public 
works  are  all  entirely  neglected.  Bridges,  roads,  and 
such  works  are  private  and  depend  entirely  on  the 
liberality  of  some  public-spirited  citizen. 

When  the  viceroy  wants  money,  he  makes  demands 
of  the  governors,  the  governors  make  demands  of 
their  taotais,  the  taotais  of  the  prefects,  the  prefects 
of  the  magistrates,  and  the  magistrates  of  the  head 

119 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

men  of  the  villages  and  any  citizens  whom  they  may 
desire  to  fleece.  The  village  is  often  composed  of 
one  family,  but  usually  of  a  few  families.  The  head 
man  is  responsible  for  what  takes  place  in  the  village. 
If  a  criminal  outrage  is  perpetrated  in  the  village,  the 
whole  village  is  responsible  and  must  suffer  for  the 
offense  unless  the  malefactor  is  produced.  The  rea- 
son that  American  authorities  have  had  trouble  in 
finding  criminals  among  the  Chinese  on  the  Pacific 
Coast  is  that  they  have  not  used  the  Chinese  method 
of  finding  them.  The  magistrate  usually  asks  for 
what  money  he  wants  or  the  equivalent  in  produce, 
and  usually  gets  it;  for  in  case  the  head  man  fails  to 
produce  the  amount  that  is  desired,  he  loses  his  posi- 
tion or  is  accused  criminally  and  made  to  suffer. 
Sometimes  the  magistrate  finds  a  rich  man  who  he 
thinks  should  divide  money  with  him,  and  levies  on 
him  for  what  he  wants.  In  case  the  rich  man  objects 
seriously,  he  is  accused  of  some  criminal  offense,  tried, 
and  brought  to  punishment.  As  the  magistrate  is 
court,  jury,  and  prosecutor,  he  is  fully  able  to  handle 
any  case.  Many  rich  Chinese  are  moving  into  Shang- 
hai to-day  to  get  protection  from  tliese  magistrates. 
The  Chinese  seldom  make  any  show  of  their  wealth 
for  fear  the  magistrates  will  make  exorbitant  demands. 
When  the  prefect  sees  that  the  magistrate  is  making 
money  too  fast,  he  squeezes  the  magistrate  and  gets 
a  good  sum.  The  taotai  keeps  his  eye  on  the  prefect, 
and  in  due  time  asks  for  funds;  and  the  governor  is 
awake  while  the  money  is  being  passed,  while  the 
viceroy  seldom  suffers  from  a  diminished  treasury. 
A  Chinese  gentleman  told  me  of  a  general  who  was 
supposed  to  have  a  certain  number  of  soldiers  when 

120 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

he  had  less  than  one-twentieth  of  that  number.  The 
general  was  paid  the  money  for  the  keep  of  the  entire 
number,  but  he  put  nineteen-twentieths  of  it  in  his 
own  purse.  In  Changchow  a  prefect  built  a  fine  school 
building  at  a  cost  of  $130,000,  with  accommodations 
for  one  thousand  pupils.  He  was  removed,  and  his 
successor  made  no  provision  for  carrying  on  the  school. 
There  are  always  opportunities  for  a  "squeeze"  in 
putting  up  a  building,  but  very  little  in  carrying  on 
a  school.  Schools  are  almost  impossible  under  such 
a  system  of  government.  These  officials,  whose  whole 
thought  is  how  to  get  money  and  who  are  moved  after 
very  short  terms  to  other  districts,  will  not  do  much  to 
build  up  a  school  system.  A  school  depends  wholly 
on  the  whim  of  the  man  in  office  for  its  support,  and 
it  may  be  terminated  abruptly  at  any  time.  A  govern- 
ment that  depends  on  such  a  system  is  almost  helpless 
in  its  efforts  to  build  up  a  great  educational  system. 

The  "squeeze"  is  one  thing  to  be  expected  in  all 
walks  of  life.  The  cook  in  the  kitchen  buys  all  the 
food  for  the  family  and  then  charges  the  family  prices 
that  will  allow  his  commission.  If  the  man  or  woman 
of  the  house  does  the  buying,  nothing  is  saved,  as  the 
cook  can  always  buy  at  cheaper  rates ;  and,  besides, 
the  merchant  knows  that  the  cook  will  in  due  time 
appear  and  demand  his  commission  on  all  that  comes 
to  the  kitchen  in  which  he  works.  The  laborer  always 
wants  something  more  than  the  regular  tariff.  The 
Chinese  cannot  believe  that  missionaries  are  doing  all 
their  work  for  them  because  they  love  them.  They 
think  the  "squeeze"  will  come  in  somewhere.  So  they 
often  report  that  the  missionaries  are  kidnaping  chil- 
dren or  arranging  for  some  raid  of  the  foreigner. 

121 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

In  China  everybody  "squeezes"  somebody,  and  the 
man  who  gets  the  most  money  is  the  greatest  win- 
ner in  life's  game. 

The  great  difference  between  the  progress  of  Japan 
and  that  of  China  may  be  explained  by  the  fact  that 
Japan  has  a  mighty  central  government  and  every  cit- 
izen is  a  patriot,  while  the  Chinese  do  not  love  their 
government,  and  they  have  no  interest  in  the  Em- 
peror, whom  they  regard  as  a  foreigner,  or  any  of 
his  appointed  officials.  They  know  them  only  as  tax- 
gatherers.  No  great  reforms  can  be  brought  about 
except  through  the  officials,  and  men  who  have  to  ad- 
minister through  a  corrupt  and  corrupting  system  can 
hardly  be  expected  to  be  great  leaders  in  public  re- 
forms. A  system  of  education  that  would  eventually 
bring  sufficient  enlightenment  to  the  people  to  make 
them  see  the  present  corruptions  will  not  be  strongly 
supported  by  officials  that  seek  tc  prevent  their  own 
overthrow.  To  be  sure,  there  are  some  officials  who 
exhibit  much  virtue  and  public  spirit;  but  they  are 
greatly  in  the  minority,  and  all  they  inaugurate  for  the 
public  good  may  be  completely  destroyed  by  a  corrupt- 
ed successor.  So  China  is  in  the  clutches  of  a  bad 
government,  and  nothing  short  of  a  revolution  will 
bring  relief.  Is  a  revolution  in  sight?  Some  steps 
have  been  taken  which  indicate  progress,  but  the  on- 
ward march  is  not  rapid.  A  leaven  has  been  intro- 
duced, and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  a  new  China  is  in 
the  forming. 

I  saw  in  Nanking  the  old  examination  halls  with 
their  23,CXK)  booths,  now  deserted.  As  many  as  25,000 
candidates  for  degrees  or  certificates  that  are  neces- 
sary for  official  appointment  were  examined  in  Xan- 

122 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

king  at  one  time.  The  examinations  dealt  almost  en- 
tirely with  quotations  from  the  Chinese  classics,  the 
beauty  of  the  character  writing,  and  with  the  elegance 
of  a  literary  composition.  It  frequently  happened  that 
a  young  man's  teacher  would  enter  a  booth  and  pass 
the  examination  for  him,  signing  his  nam.e.  Degrees 
were  bought  outright.  But  the  old  regime  has  been 
done  away,  and  the  examinations  are  held  in  Peking 
when  they  are  held  at  all.  The  old  system  was  seen 
to  be  worthless.  I  asked  Dr.  Timothy  Richards,  Dr. 
Reid,  and  others  what  had  been  substituted  for  the 
old  examinations,  and  they  answered  promptly :  "Noth- 
ing." The  old  system  was  judged  inadequate,  and 
the  government  has  been  incompetent  to  produce  in- 
stitutions that  will  give  what  is  wanted.  Young  men 
must  be  sent  by  the  government  to  Japan,  America, 
and  Europe.  The  mission  schools  have  accomplished 
much,  but  they  cannot  meet  the  demand  in  an  empire 
of  400,000,000  people.  China  once  had  15,000  stu- 
dents in  the  schools  in  Japan;  but  she  does  not  like 
Japan,  and  the  boycott  which  she  instituted  on  account 
of  the  Tatsvt  Maru  incident  led  to  her  recalling  many 
of  her  students  from  Japan.  She  does  not  like  to 
send  her  young  men  to  America  on  account  of  the 
treatment  which  the  Chinese  have  received  in  the  en- 
forcement of  our  disgraceful  exclusion  laws,  which 
were  made  in  answer  to  the  demands  of  the  labor 
unions  of  California.  We  might  to-day  be  molding 
the  leaders  of  China  had  we  been  more  far-sighted. 
American  interests  in  the  Orient  can  be  best  furthered 
by  America  showing  a  more  friendly  spirit  toward  the 
Chinese  than  she  has  shown  before,  and  in  that  way 
win  back  the  student  body  that  would  be  glad  to  come 

123 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

to  our  institutions.  China  needs  help  in  educating  her 
leaders,  and  America  needs  help  in  furthering-  her 
commercial  interests  in  the  East.  It  must  not  be  un- 
derstood that  China  has  no  schools.  She  has  one  uni- 
versity, eighteen  high  schools,  184  middle  schools,  and 
3,000  to  5,000  primary  schools;  but  what  are  these 
with  a  population  of  more  than  400,000,000  ?  The  edu- 
cational system  is  modeled  after  the  Japanese,  but  it 
has  no  such  efficiency  as  the  system  in  Japan.  There 
are  not  teachers  enough  for  the  schools  that  exist. 
There  is  a  great  opening  in  China  for  foreign  teachers 
who  are  willing  to  give  themselves  to  the  great  work 
of  educating  this  great  people. 

At  Soochow,  through  the  kindness  of  Dr.  and  Mrs. 
W.  H.  Park,  I  had  the  privilege  of  visiting  the  home 
of  a  wealthy  Chinese  in  company  with  other  friends. 
We  went  in  sedan  chairs.  The  coolies  bore  us  along 
a  narrow  street,  some  twelve  or  fourteen  feet  wide, 
with  walls  on  either  side  about  nine  feet  high.  Sud- 
denly they  stopped  and  turned  through  a  doorway  in 
the  wall,  across  the  first  court,  and  let  down  the  chairs 
in  a  reception  hall.  Servants  met  us  and  bore  in  our 
cards.  We  passed  through  a  doorway  into  a  passage- 
way, and  after  walking  about  thirty  feet  we  were  met 
by  Mr.  Yang,  his  wife,  his  son,  and  other  members 
of  his  family.  There  are  forty  persons  in  his  house- 
hold and  two  hundred  rooms  in  his  house.  There  was 
no  handshaking,  as  the  Chinese  do  not  shake  hands; 
but  there  was  very  much  bowing,  and  in  the  bow  the 
hands  were  held  together  just  as  if  they  were  cold 
and  efforts  were  made  to  warm  them,  and  they  were 
brought  up  near  the  level  of  the  upper  chest  or,  in 
case  of  extreme  politeness,  to  the  level  of  the  face. 

124 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

This  multimillionaire,  the  controller  of  the  pearl  fish- 
eries in  Ceylon,  and  his  sweet-faced  wife  received  us 
dressed  in  plain  clothes.  The  Chinese  never  don  fine 
clothes  when  receiving  for  fear  they  would  be  better 
dressed  than  their  guests — a  bit  of  modesty  that  might 
become  some  American  hosts  and  hostesses.  We  were 
shown  into  a  court  in  which  there  were  a  fountain, 
some  flowers,  and  a  cliff  made  with  subterranean  pas- 
sages. We  passed  then  into  a  reception  room,  which 
was  decorated  with  Chinese  drawings,  some  elegantly 
carved  wood,  a  large  number  of  beautiful  marble  slabs, 
and  the  usual  number  of  reception  chairs.  From  this 
room  we  went  out  into  another  court  in  which  there 
were  beautiful  pots  of  flowers  and  an  elaborate  cement 
cliff  with  intricate  passages.  All  the  courts  and  the 
floors  of  the  reception  rooms  were  covered  with  the 
dark  brick  with  which  the  houses  are  built.  The 
houses  of  China  for  the  most  part  have  only  brick 
floors.  After  the  court  we  went  into  another  recep- 
tion room  with  large  pewter  lanterns,  the  most  ex- 
quisitely carved  pieces  of  wood,  and  many  Chinese 
decorations.  Here  we  were  served  with  tea.  The 
cups  had  no  handles,  and  they  had  covers  that  re- 
sembled saucers,  except  that  they  were  small  enough 
to  fit  into  the  cup.  These  covers  keep  the  tea  warm. 
When  drinking  the  tea,  one  presses  down  the  side 
of  the  cover  so  as  to  let  the  tea  come  where  it  may 
be  sipped.  After  the  tea  we  were  shown  across  a 
court  into  a  small  reception  room  which  was  deco- 
rated in  white  (the  color  for  mourning)  and  in  which 
there  was  a  small  altar.  This  was  in  honor  of  Mr. 
Yang's  mother,  who  died  a  few  months  ago.  We 
were  shown  into  Mr.  Yang's  bedroom,  also  into  Mrs. 

125 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

Yang's  bedroom,  and  into  the  private  boudoir  which 
adjoins  each  room.  The  beds  are  elaborate  affairs. 
They  are  very  much  Hke  the  elaborate  top  beds  of 
the  colonial  days  except  that  they  are  closed  in  on 
three  sides  and  beautifully  draped  curtains  hang  at 
the  side  where  the  entrance  is  made.  The  apartments 
of  the  various  members  of  the  large  family  are  in 
the  different  parts  of  this  great  two-story  house,  and 
they  are  kept  according  to  the  wish  of  the  occupants. 
A  son,  when  he  marries,  does  not  set  up  a  house  of 
his  own,  but  he  lives  in  his  father's  house.  The  wife, 
the  concubines,  the  children  of  all,  the  families  of  all 
live  under  one  roof,  and  the  father — or  in  case  of  his 
death  his  eldest  son — is  head  of  the  entire  household. 
Often,  in  the  country,  a  whole  village  has  in  it  only 
one  family,  and  the  head  of  the  family  is  head  of  the 
village.  It  is  the  law  and  order  of  the  family  which 
has  kept  China  in  a  compact  state  during  all  the 
changes  which  have  come  in  the  national  govern- 
ment. 

The  day  before  I  left  Shanghai  I  had  the  privilege 
of  attending  a  wedding  in  com.pany  with  my  wife  and 
Rev.  and  Mrs.  J.  W.  Cline.  The  wedding  was  to  take 
place  at  five  o'clock.  We  arrived  a  little  past  that 
time,  but  the  w^edding  had  not  taken  place.  Rev.  J. 
B.  Fearn,  the  presiding  elder,  was  present  to  offi- 
ciate. The  brother  of  the  groom  and  his  wife  and  his 
mother  are  Christians.  We  were  cordially  received 
and  given  the  seats  of  honor  in  the  reception  room. 
The  groom  was  dressed  in  the  gaudy  garments  of  an 
official  w^hich  he  had  rented  for  the  occasion,  follow- 
ing the  custom  of  all  bridegrooms.  The  bride  had 
been  sent  for,  but  she  had  not  come.    While  we  waited 

126 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

we  were  shown  the  bridal  chamber  with  its  beautiful 
bed,  its  full  quota  of  house  and  kitchen  furnishings, 
and  various  fruits  and  candies,  with  some  beautiful 
wedding  gifts.  We  waited  an  hour,  but  the  bride  did 
not  come.  We  were  shown  the  large  book  with  red 
pages,  on  which  were  written  in  Chinese  the  names  of 
all  the  gifts  which  the  groom's  family  had  made  to 
the  couple  and  to  the  bride.  A  bookkeeper  was  kept 
busy  in  an  adjoining  room  adjusting  all  accounts. 
"The  bride  is  coming!"  We  waited.  The  announce- 
ment was  made  several  times,  but  about  seven  o'clock 
she  came — that  is,  she  was  brought  in  on  an  elabo- 
rately decorated  sedan  bridal  chair,  borne  on  the  shoul- 
ders of  four  men.  A  half  dozen  large  Chinese  lan- 
terns on  poles  were  carried  in  front  of  the  bridal  chair, 
while  a  company  of  a  dozen  or  more  men  were  in  at- 
tendance, piping,  ringing  bells,  and  making  all  the 
noise  possible.  The  arrival  of  the  bride  was  an- 
nounced by  the  explosion  of  several  packs  of  fire- 
crackers. The  heavy  chair,  with  its  precious  contents, 
was  borne  into  the  reception  room.  The  groom  was 
brought  and  stationed  before  the  minister.  Five  wom- 
en servants  accompanied  the  bride  to  see  that  she 
was  properly  cared  for  in  the  ceremonies.  Two  of 
them  lifted  the  curtain  of  the  chair  sufficiently  to 
adjust  the  bride's  headgear,  and  then  threw  back  the 
curtain  and  assisted  the  bride  to  step  out.  She  stood 
before  the  minister  and  beside  the  man,  whom  she 
had  never  seen  and  by  whom  she  had  never  been  seen, 
to  whom  she  was  to  be  married.  A  heavy  red  veil 
covered  her  face,  through  which  she  could  not  see  or 
be  seen,  and  gaudy  garments  enveloped  her  body. 
The  ceremony  was  read  in  Chinese.    The  servants  as- 

127 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

sisted  the  bride  to  the  bridal  chamber.  Her  veil 
would  not  allow  her  to  see,  and  her  bound  feet  would 
not  allow  her  to  walk  up  tlie  steep  stairs  unaided. 
The  groom  followed  the  bride,  and  when  they  reached 
the  chamber  they  sat  on  the  side  of  the  bed  and 
looked  toward  each  other  for  a  few  minutes.  Then 
the  groom  came  below.  The  servants  changed  the 
bride's  hats,  or  rather  helmets,  which  required  much 
time,  as  they  virtually  made  the  hat  by  using  pearl 
pins.  We  went  in  to  the  Chinese  feast,  consisting  of 
shark  fins,  bird's-nest  soup,  pigeon  eggs,  and  man}' 
meats.  I  was  very,  very  polite,  and  ate  nothing.  We 
went  below  to  see  the  tricks  of  a  juggler  who  always 
performs  at  weddings.  The  room  was  crowded  with 
people  from  the  street.  After  we  left,  the  bride  was 
borne  back  to  her  parents'  home,  and  at  two  o'clock 
in  the  morning  she  returned  to  her  husband's  home. 
She  will  live  in  her  husband's  home  one  month,  and 
then  she  will  go  to  her  parental  home  for  a  month, 
when  she  will  return  to  her  husband's  home  to  stay. 

The  marriage  is  more  of  a  financial  matter  even 
than  it  is  in  certain  families  in  New  York  where  counts 
are  bought  and  millionaires  are  sold.  Every  man's 
wife  in  China  is  bought  for  him.  The  man  must  get 
married  and  have  sons,  or  else  there  will  be  no  one 
to  burn  paper  at  his  grave,  and  that  will  be  an  eternal 
disaster.  The  "go-between,"  or  matchmaker,  is  em- 
ployed to  find  a  suitable  wife  for  a  man's  son.  Nego- 
tiations are  entered  into,  and  if  the  proposals  are  sat- 
isfactory the  proper  present  in  money  is  taken  from 
the  man  with  the  son  to  the  man  with  the  daughter. 
In  due  time  other  presents  of  money  are  sent.  When 
the  young  man's  family  is  ready  for  the  marriage,  the 

128 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

time  for  the  marriage  is  set.  The  bridegroom's  fam- 
ily sends  the  bride  her  trousseau.  All  the  household 
furnishings  are  provided.  On  the  day  appointed  the 
bride  is  sent  for,  and  frequently  while  the  guests  are 
assembled  in  the  groom's  house  the  bride's  family 
make  other  demands  for  money  before  they  will  let 
her  go.  So  it  frequently  happens  that  the  marriage 
of  a  son  will  involve  himself  and  his  family  in  debt 
which  is  not  removed  for  many  years.  One  of  our 
missionaries  tells  of  a  man  who  cried  out  at  the  funeral 
of  his  wife :  "It  will  just  break  me  up  to  have  to  get 
another  wife !"  But  when  a  man  gets  a  wife,  she  is 
his,  or  rather  his  family's.  She  calls  his  mother  "moth- 
er," and  serves  her  as  a  slave.  She  is  virtually  dead 
to  her  own  family.  She  loses  her  name,  and  is  known 
only  as  the  wife  of  her  husband.  Her  highest  joy  is 
to  be  the  mother  of  sons.  In  case  she  is  childless,  she 
adopts  a  son.  She  will  always  be  her  husband's  legit- 
imate wife,  although  he  may  choose  for  himself  one  or 
more  concubines  whose  children  are  known  as  her 
children.  When  her  husband  goes  from  home  on 
business — as  often  happens — she  stays  at  home  while 
he  takes  with  him  a  concubine.  The  wife  can  never 
be  dethroned.  If  both  husband  and  wife  desire  to 
dissolve  marriage  on  account  of  incompatibility  of 
temper,  a  divorce  may  be  secured.  The  divorce  may 
take  place  if  the  wife  beats  the  husband,  if  the  mar- 
riage contract  contains  false  statements,  or  if  the  wife 
has  one  of  the  seven  faults  (barrenness,  sensuality, 
want  of  filial  piety  toward  the  husband's  parents, 
loquacity,  thievishness,  jealousy,  and  distrust)  or  an 
incurable  disease.  But  none  of  the  seven  faults  will 
justify  a  divorce  if  the  wife  has  mourned  three  years 
9  129 


ETCHINGS'    OF     THE     EAST 

for  her  husband's  parents,  if  his  family  has  become 
rich  since  their  marriage,  or  if  the  wife  has  no  parents 
living  to  receive  her  back  again.  The  widow  who 
never  marries  is  highly  honored,  and  many  beautiful 
monuments  are  erected  in  China  to  the  women  who 
did  not  marry  the  second  time. 

The  Chinese  are  bound  down  socially  and  reli- 
giously by  their  ancestor  worship.  The  first  thing  that 
a  bride  is  asked  to  do  is  to  worship  before  the  an- 
cestral tablets.  In  the  temples  when  the  priests  are 
conducting  worship  bowls  of  food  of  all  kinds  are  put 
on  the  altar  for  the  departed  spirits,  and  paper  cov- 
ered with  a  sort  of  material  that  looks  like  tin  foil 
is  burned  that  the  dead  may  have  currency  to  pay 
their  bills.  The  people  believe  that  the  dead  remain 
in  this  world  haunting  their  tombs  and  their  fonner 
homes  and  sharing  invisibly  in  the  life  of  their  living 
descendants.  All  the  dead  become  gods  in  the  sense 
of  acquiring  supernatural  power,  biit  they  retain  the 
characters  which  distinguished  them  during  life.  The 
happiness  of  the  dead  depends  upon  the  respectful 
service  rendered  them  by  the  living,  and  the  happi- 
ness of  the  living  depends  upon  the  fulfillment  of 
pious  duty  to  the  dead.  Every  season,  good  or  evil, 
the  harvests  plentiful  or  scant,  floods,  tempests,  earth- 
quake, or  tidal  waves  are  the  work  of  the  dead.  All 
human  actions,  good  or  bad,  are  controlled  by  the 
dead.  The  whole  family  life  is  involved  by  these  be- 
liefs. The  Chinese  fear  beheading  because  they  be- 
lieve that  they  would  be  compelled  to  be  headless  in 
the  next  world.  Funerals  are  often  so  expensive  as 
to  involve  the  family  in  a  debt  for  years  to  come. 
A  man  may  live  a  worthless  life,  but  he  must  have 

130 


MONUMENT   TO  A   WIDOW. 


SMALL   TEMPLE   WITH    TYPICAL   ROOF. 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

full  honors  at  his  funeral  or  else  he  will  bring  trouble 
to  the  family.  Ancestor  worship,  with  its  mass  of 
superstitions,  is  the  great  obstacle  to  the  progress  of 
Christianity  among  the  Chinese,  Superstition  can  be 
banished  only  by  the  enlightenment  that  comes  with 
education  and  the  knowledge  of  the  gospel  of  Jesus 
Christ.  Confucianism  can  bring  no  relief,  as  it  was 
out  of  its  teachings  that  ancestor  worship  sprang, 
Taoism  is  a  kind  of  nature  worship  which  easily  leads 
to  a  belief  in  demonology.  Buddhism  can  help  very 
little  with  its  belief  in  the  transmigration  of  souls. 
Mohammedanism  has  30,000,000  adherents,  but  its 
life  of  sensuality  and  bloodshed  can  give  very  little 
comfort  to  peace-loving  Chinese,  China  needs  edu- 
cation and  Christianity.  Education  may  help  to  drive 
away  her  darkness,  but  only  Christianity  can  bring 
the  sun  that  causes  life  to  appear.  The  school,  the 
hospital,  the  Church  are  the  three  institutions  that 
China  needs  to-day. 

There  are  many  characteristics  of  the  Chinese  which 
are  of  great  interest  to  Anglo-Saxons,  The  Chinese 
are  polite  to  the  letter,  economical  in  the  extreme,  and 
industrious  beyond  one's  expectation.  They  do  not 
work  fast.  They  have  an  utter  disregard  of  time,  and 
seldom  keep  an  appointment  on  time.  They  exhibit 
an  absence  of  nerves,  and  seem  to  be  indifferent  to 
comfort  or  convenience.  They  possess  strong  phys- 
ical vitality.  They  are  patient  and  persevering,  and 
are  usually  content  and  cheerful.  They  are  gamblers 
by  nature,  or  at  least  of  long  training.  The  lower 
classes  are  noted  for  their  dishonesty.  One  man  who 
has  lived  many  years  in  the  country  said  that  articles 
that  could  be  easily  borne  away  had  to  be  removed 

131 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

from  the  guest  chamber.  There  is  no  danger  so  long 
as  the  "face"  is  involved;  but  v%'hen  there  is  no  prob- 
ability of  detection,  honesty  is  not  considered  essen- 
tial. In  transactions  the  Chinese  possess  a  fine  talent 
of  misunderstanding,  while  indirection  is  a  species  of 
brilliancy.  Sincerity  is  not  always  detected.  Quar- 
rels in  the  streets  are  quite  common,  and  regardless 
of  sex.  Fights  are  not  frequent,  although  the  occa- 
sional pull  of  the  queue  adds  interest  to  the  broils.  A 
blow  in  the  face  would  be  an  insult  which  could  scarce- 
ly be  wiped  out.  In  a  mass  of  people  reared  in  igno- 
rance mutual  suspicion  would  be  expected.  There 
seems  to  be  a  total  absence  of  all  public  spirit.  The 
filth  of  the  street  and  the  dilapidation  of  public  build- 
ings cause  no  one  any  concern.  That  the  streets  are 
filled  with  beggars  is  looked  upon  as  natural.  No 
effort  is  made  to  give  a  city  pure  water.  The  boiling 
of  the  water  in  the  tea  has  been  the  salvation  of  the 
Chinese.  The  Chinaman  asks  only  to  be  let  alone. 
The  ways  of  his  ancestors  suit  him.  He  is  respectful 
of  law,  and  he  honors  letters.  He  is  the  descendant 
of  a  great  people,  and  he  has  perpetuated  an  empire 
that  was  in  full  glory  before  the  foundations  of  Rome 
were  laid  or  the  great  history  of  Greece  was  produced. 
He  possesses  stability  and  has  the  capacity  for  great 
service  in  the  world.  His  country  has  served  the  un- 
numbered millions  for  millenniums,  and  yet  its  vast 
mineral  deposits  have  never  been  touched.  He  has  be- 
lieved that  the  great  dragon  possessed  the  interior  of 
the  earth,  and  he  has  been  afraid  to  molest  him;  but 
he  has  begun  to  realize  that  the  dragon  will  move  if 
the  wealth  that  is  hidden  in  the  earth  is  wanted.  But  a 
new  day  for  the  Chinaman  has  dawned. 

132 


CHAPTER  XI. 
Commerce  and  Christianity  in  China. 

LESS  than  a  dozen  years  ago  there  were  no  news- 
papers in  China  excepting  the  Peking  Gazette, 
no  telephones  and  no  telegraphs  except  those  between 
some  treaty  ports  which  foreigners  had  erected.  There 
are  now  in  the  empire  about  two  hundred  newspapers, 
telephones  in  several  cities  and  some  long-distance 
lines,  and  a  telegraph  system  which  is  operated  under 
the  Post  Office  Department.  The  postal  system  is  of 
recent  origin,  and  has  been  established  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Sir  Robert  Hart,  the  British  Supervisor  of 
Customs  and  until  recently  the  Inspector  General  of 
the  mail  system  of  China.  The  only  way  of  com- 
munication which  the  Chinese  had  was  by  messengers, 
and  they  were  not  employed  to  any  great  extent.  The 
people  did  not  know  that  there  was  a  world  outside 
of  China,  and  they  were  not  concerned  to  know  what 
was  going  on  in  their  own  country.  When  the  war 
was  on  between  China  and  Japan,  some  natives  asked 
a  missionary  what  and  where  the  rebellion  was.  Re- 
bellions are  of  constant  occurrence  in  all  the  provinces, 
and  so  many  people  of  the  empire  never  knew  that 
their  country  had  ever  been  in  deadly  conflict  with  a 
foreign  power.  Missionaries  who  wear  the  native 
garb  are  sometimes  asked  from  what  province  they 
have  come.  The  great  masses  of  the  more  than  four 
hundred  millions  of  Chinese  are  totally  ignorant  of 
everything  outside  of  their  own  local  communities. 

133 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

China  has  no  common  language.  Her  written  lan- 
guage, Wenli,  is  never  spoken,  and  the  spoken  dialects 
are  not  written.  The  native  of  Soochow  cannot  come 
fifty  miles  to  Shanghai  and  understand  his  fellow- 
countrymen.  Almost  every  city  has  its  dialect.  This 
is  a  great  barrier  to  all  mission  work,  and  really  to 
all  progress  in  China.  The  coming  of  railroads  and 
the  circulation  of  newspapers  printed  in  the  most  wide- 
ly used  vernacular  will  help  to  give  China  a  language. 
A  modified  Mandarin  will  likely,  in  the  course  of  a 
few  scores  of  years,  become  the  language  for  a  greater 
part  of  the  empire.  The  scholars  of  China  will  per- 
form a  tremendous  public  service  by  bringing  the  peo- 
ple of  the  various  provinces  to  the  use  of  a  common 
tongue  in  speech  and  in  print. 

The  only  piece  of  money  which  I  found  was  taken 
at  its  face  value  was  the  Mexican  dollar.  Shanghai 
dollars  could  not  be  used  in  Nanking,  nor  Nanking 
dollars  in  Soochow.  In  having  a  Mexican  dollar 
changed  into  small  coin,  I  received  eleven  ten-cent 
pieces.  At  the  post  office  I  oflFered  forty  cents  in  coins 
and  received  only  thirty-two  cents  in  stamps.  China 
has  no  currency,  and  each  city  has  its  own  local  money. 
The  money  market  fluctuates  daily.  For  each  Amer- 
ican dollar  I  received  two  dollars  and  twenty  cents  in 
Shanghai.  A  month  before  I  reached  Shanghai  Amer- 
ican dollars  were  worth  only  two  dollars  local  cur- 
rency, while  three  months  before  they  were  worth  only 
one  dollar  and  seventy-five  cents.  The  traveler  never 
knows  what  his  money  is  worth,  and  he  is  forever  in 
the  clutches  of  a  money  changer.  When  a  silver  dol- 
lar falls  below  the  price  of  the  silver  that  is  in  it,  the 
Chinese  banks  buy  the  dollars  and  melt  them  into  sil- 

124 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

» 

ver  bullion.  In  one  bank  I  found  large  bars  of  silver 
bullion,  or  ingots,  which  are  used  as  currency.  In 
parts  of  Mongolia  silver  does  not  find  acceptance,  but 
payments  are  made  in  brick  tea,  the  required  quantity 
being  broken  off  the  brick.  Small  silk  handkerchiefs 
are  another  popular  form  of  currency,  and  a  store  of 
them  will  carry  a  traveler  farther  than  any  number  of 
Mexican  dollars.  China  is  in  great  need  of  common 
currency,  but  it  will  be  hardly  possible  so  long  as  the 
central  government  remains  weak  and  the  provinces 
have  a  practically  independent  government. 

The  first  national  bank  of  China  owes  its  origin  to 
an  imperial  edict  which  was  issued  just  ten  years  ago. 
There  is  now  an  imperial  bank  at  Shanghai,  one  at 
Tien-tsin,  and  one  at  Hankow.  But  as  the  central 
government  has  not  the  confidence  of  the  native  mer- 
chants, the  imperial  bank  cannot  be  a  rival  to  the 
foreign  banks  that  are  doing  business  in  China.  These 
foreign  banks,  which  may  be  found  at  all  the  treaty 
ports,  declare  large  dividends.  The  native  banks  are 
local  enterprises  for  the  facility  of  merchants  and 
traders,  and  they  receive  deposits  for  which  they  pay 
from  five  to  eight  per  cent  per  annum.  The  shortest 
period  of  a  deposit  is  six  months.  The  depositor  is 
given  an  interest  book,  and  he  may  draw  his  interest 
by  the  month  or  by  the  quarter.  These  banks  some- 
times issue  a  limited  amount  of  notes,  but  these  would 
have  no  wide  circulation  unless  the  bank  has  a  good 
standing.  They  do  not  issue  more  than  they  can  read- 
ily redeem  in  silver  coin  or  copper  cash,  as  a  rival 
house  or  an  evil-minded  person  might  spread  a  rumor 
as  to  their  stability  and  thereby  cause  a  rush.  There 
is  no  limit  to  their  financial  responsibility  for  the  bank, 

135 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

as  the  Chinese  think  that  to  hmit  their  capital  or  lia- 
bilities would  destroy  their  financial  standing.  The 
status  of  a  bank  is  ascertained  by  watchers,  who  are 
employed  by  banks  and  commercial  houses,  and  whose 
sole  business  is  to  make  daily  visits  to  the  banks  and 
closely  observe  their  dealings  and  financial  conditions. 
The  banks  loan  money  at  a  high  rate,  and  they  make 
money  in  discounting  bills  and  in  their  dealings  in 
bills  of  exchange.  They  have  no  palatial  banking 
houses  and  no  iron  vaults,  as  they  keep  on  hand  very 
little  money.  Loans  arp  not  made  on  real  estate  ex- 
cept in  the  foreign  settlements,  such  as  Hongkong, 
Shanghai,  and  Tien-tsin.  In  some  provinces  the  bank- 
ers have  large  warehouses  in  which  they  stow  grain, 
beeswax,  medicinal  herbs,  and  other  stuff  deposited 
as  security  by  their  customers.  These  banks  make 
large  profit  also  by  handling  silver.  They  buy  from 
brokers  whose  business  it  is  to  purchase  from  shops 
and  money  changers  silver  dollars  of  a  low  standard 
or  not  passable  at  the  full  rate.  These  dollars  are 
bought  at  a  price  far  below  the  value  of  the  silver  in 
them,  and  they  are  melted,  and  "shoes"  of  silver  are 
made.  Mexican  dollars  that  have  been  chopped  or 
clipped  or  have  no  standard  ring  in  them  in  this  way 
furnish  a  good  source  of  profit.  When  the  foreign 
trade  was  concentrated  in  Canton,  one  bank  made 
$100,000  in  one  year  from  this  source  alone. 

The  banks  of  the  Shansi  Province  enjoy  a  semi- 
governmental  character  in  that  the  money  due  from 
the  provinces  to  the  central  government  passes  through 
them.  The  Shansi  bankers  for  a  thousand  years  have 
been  the  most  numerous  and  most  influential  in  the 
empire.     They  form  a  kind  of  guild,  and  have  very 

136 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

strict  regulations  regarding  interest,  speculating,  and 
clearing  house.  They  own  for  the  most  part  the  banks 
of  exchange  of  the  country.  One  can  travel  over 
China  with  a  letter  of  credit  from  one  of  these  banks. 
The  exchange  banks  do  not  loan  money  on  land  or 
houses,  and  the  most  of  their  loans  are  made  to  local 
banks,  who  loan  to  merchants  on  personal  security. 

The  Chinese  have  high  regard  for  promptness  in 
business.  They  are  merchants  by  nature,  and  appre- 
ciate the  fact  that  successful  business  demands  order 
and  respect  for  established  custom.  The  foreigner 
likes  to  do  business  with  a  Chinaman  because  his  word 
is  thoroughly  reliable.  He  will  stand  by  his  contracts. 
Herein  he  differs  from  the  Japanese,  whose  disregard 
of  all  commercial  agreement  is  proverbial  in  the  East. 
With  the  Japanese  war  has  always  been  honorable, 
and  the  Samurai,  the  most  honored  class,  have  been 
fighters;  while  merchandising  has  been  considered  a 
kind  of  piracy.  With  the  Chinese  war  has  been  re- 
bellion and  commerce  the  avocation  of  the  most  re- 
spectful classes.  If  political  and  military  China  were 
as  well  organized  as  commercial  China,  there  would 
be  some  hope  of  progress  in  the  great  empire.  While 
the  central  government  is  invertebrate,  the  commerce 
of  the  country  is  well  organized  and  is  directed  by 
expert  and  competent  business  men.  China  cannot 
contend  in  arms  with  a  foreign  foe,  but  through  her 
guilds  she  can  by  means  of  the  boycott  drive  the 
business  interests  of  any  foreign  nation  from  her  do- 
main. America  has  felt  her  boycott,  and  Japan  has 
realized  that  the  gim  and  the  sword  are  not  the 
only  weapons  of  national  defense.  The  guilds,  or 
merchant  unions,  as  they  would  be  called  in  America, 

137 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

control  very  largely  the  business  of  the  country.  The 
guild  houses  are  usually  the  most  palatial  buildings 
in  a  Chinese  city.  They  contain  not  only  a  hall  where 
the  members  meet,  but  also  rooms  set  apart  for  the 
lodging  of  high  officials  when  traveling  and  for  schol- 
ars en  route  to  the  metropolitan  examinations,  and 
places  also  for  theatrical  performances.  The  officers 
of  a  guild  are  the  general  manager  and  a  committee 
who  are  elected  annually.  The  permanent  secretary 
is  a  scholar  of  literary  rank,  and  is  paid  a  salary.  It 
is  necessary  for  the  secretary  to  be  a  scholar  of  literary 
rank  that  he  may  have  official  standing  and  because 
the  delegate  of  a  guild  has  access  to  the  official  class. 
The  membership  of  a  guild  is  limited  to  thirty,  and 
the  junior  members  of  a  partnership  are  not  allowed 
to  attend  the  meetings.  The  revenue  of  the  guild  is 
derived  from  a  self-imposed  tax  on  commodities  sold 
by  the  members.  There  is  a  monthly  inspection  of 
the  books  of  every  establishment  connected  with  the 
guild.  The  inspection  is  made  by  clerks  of  various 
firms  in  rotation.  In  case  of  disagreement  between 
members  about  money  matters,  they  must  submit  the 
disputes  to  the  guild  for  arbitration  under  penalty  of 
expulsion.  Regulations  regarding  the  minutest  de- 
tails— weights,  measures,  storage,  recovery  of  stolen 
property,  payments  of  bills — have  been  duly  adopted. 
The  combination  reaches  with  its  influence  every  trade 
interest  that  is  common  to  its  members.  Its  decisions 
are  implicitly  obeyed  under  the  pain  of  a  heavy  pen- 
alty. The  inner  workings  of  the  guilds  are  not  gen- 
erally known,  as  they  are  not  discussed  in  public. 
They  exercise  not  only  a  domineering  commercial  au- 
thority, but  they  have  a  powerful  influence  by  virtue 

138 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

of  their  compact  organization  on  political,  religious, 
and  social  questions.  To  incur  the  displeasure  of  a 
guild  means  religious  and  social  isolation  and  com- 
mercial ruin. 

The  Manchu  dynasty  is  responsible  for  the  policy 
of  exclusion  which  is  in  practice  throughout  the  em- 
pire, as  well  as  for  the  continual  antagonism  to  the 
introduction  of  foreign  goods  and  foreign  ideas.  The 
Alanchus  gained  their  mastery  of  China  through  the 
name  of  trade  expansion,  and  they  fear  that  some  for- 
eign nation  may  overrun  them  in  the  same  way.  The 
European  as  a  trader  is  distrusted,  and  not  without 
some  reason  if  the  actions  of  the  early  Portuguese  and 
Dutch  traders  may  be  taken  as  criteria.  Exclusion 
affects  not  only  the  foreign  trader,  but  also  the  Chi- 
nese who  come  from  other  provinces  or  even  pre- 
fectures. A  Chinese  will  not  undertake  to  start  a  new 
industry  in  a  strange  province  until  he  conciliates  local 
prejudices  by  interesting  some  natives  of  the  district 
sufficiently  in  the  enterprise  to  have  them  take  some 
stock.  Foreigners  who  wish  to  succeed  in  China  must 
learn  to  maintain  the  local  interest.  With  no  local  in- 
terest considered,  the  trader  will  soon  find  the  local 
markets  barred  to  his  products  and  the  prices  of  raw 
material  and  labor  increased  so  as  to  make  business 
impossible.  There  are  unions  among  all  classes.  There 
is  a  uniformity  in  the  prices  prevailing  throughout  a 
town  or  district.  The  cost  of  commodities  is  the  same 
in  all  classes  of  stores,  as  the  prices  are  fixed  by  the 
local  union.  The  combine  may  be  new  to  Western 
civilization,  but  not  to  China. 

The  Chinese  merchant  has  three  pay  days,  one  of 
which  is  the  Chinese  New  Year  (about  February  i), 

139 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

and  the  other  two  four  months  apart.  Up-country 
merchants  pass  over  one  pay  day.  So  the  seller  may 
have  to  wait  four  months  and  one  day  or  eight  months 
less  one  day  for  payment.  Cash  transactions  are  prac- 
tically unknown  to  Chinese  merchants.  Payments  are 
often  made  in  goods  of  native  or  local  production  plus 
a  cash  balance  for  the  middlemen.  Payment  may  be 
made  in  "shoes"  of  silver.  The  middleman,  or  the 
go-between,  is  very  necessary  where  a  people  love  bar- 
gaining as  do  the  Chinese  and  will  spend  hours,  days, 
weeks,  and  even  months  in  the  preliminaries  of  a  con- 
tract. The  go-between's  occupation  is  that  of  seeking 
where  the  best  bargains  can  be  secured  for  him  who 
wants  to  sell,  as  well  as  for  him  who  wants  to  buy. 
He  has  numerous  patrons,  and  he  holds  an  important 
position  in  the  trading  world.  Often  he  confines  him- 
self to  a  particular  line  of  goods  and  acquires  an 
expert  opinion.  He  is  paid  a  commission  on  all  trans- 
actions which  he  brings  about.  He  wields  a  great 
power  in  developing  or  in  crippling  the  trade  of  the 
merchants  of  China. 

The  pawn  shops  of  China  are  definite  commercial 
undertakings,  and  are  among  the  high  classes  of  busi- 
ness with  which  a  wealthy  Chinese  gentleman  may  be 
connected.  They  are  recognized  by  the  governments, 
central  and  provincial,  and  are  taxed  and  registered. 
The  owners  cannot  refuse  to  advance  money  to  any 
amount  on  reliable  security,  generally  sixty-five  to 
seventy-five  per  cent  of  the  value  of  such  security  be- 
ing the  pawning  limit.  The  security  cannot  be  sold 
under  eighteen  months,  and  by  mutual  consent  the 
time  of  redemption  may  be  extended  to  three  years. 
The  pawn  shop  may  lend  on  standing  crops  of  rice, 

140 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

millet,  tea,  cotton,  on  land  revenues,  on  house  rentals, 
on  shop  accounts,  fittings,  merchandise,  as  well  as  on 
personal  possessions,  such  as  wearing  apparel,  per- 
sonal ornaments,  or  household  goods.  Only  very 
wealthy  men  can  be  proprietors  of  pawn  shops.  Usual- 
ly they  are  at  the  same  time  bankers,  large  grain  mer- 
chants, or  large  salt  merchants.  The  government 
makes  deposits  with  the  pawn  shops.  A  pawn  office 
is  one  of  the  best  places  to  get  money  changed,  and 
one  can  safely  travel  on  letters  of  credit  issued  by 
the  pawn  shops.  These  pawn  shops  usually  have  the 
finest  and  most  imposing  buildings  in  a  Chinese  city. 
They  are  largely  patronized  by  all  classes  of  people. 

The  Chinese  are  unquestionably  the  business  men  of 
the  East.  They  know  how  to  do  business,  although 
their  methods  may  be  practically  those  of  one  thou- 
sand years  ago.  The  foreigner  may  teach  them  some 
lessons,  but  he  will  find  that  when  he  deals  with  one 
man  he  deals  with  a  vast  army  of  men  and  any  un- 
just dealing  will  eventually  meet  severe  penalty. 
"Face"  would  compel  the  Chinese  merchant  to  fulfill 
his  contract,  even  to  his  ruin,  as  to  lose  "face" — 
which  would  happen  should  an  agreement  be  broken 
— would  involve  his  entire  future  and  that  of  his  fam- 
ily in  the  community  in  which  he  lives.  The  China- 
man may  not  always  be  an  honest  man,  as  it  is  well 
known  that  many  of  the  people  are  very  dishonest; 
but  any  contract  that  involves  "face"  will  unquestion- 
ably be  kept.  The  matter  of  "face"  is  that  which 
makes  the  great  difference  between  the  merchants  of 
China  and  those  of  Japan.  The  Chinese  may  not  show 
the  nervous  enterprise  of  some  other  wonder-working 
people,  yet  they  exhibit  that  solidity  and  commercial 

141 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

integrity  which  will  make  them  the  dependable  people 
of  the  Orient  for  many  years  yet  to  come. 

Some  sympathetic  appreciation  of  the  peoples  of  the 
Orient  is  absolutely  essential  to  any  fruitful  labor 
among  them  and  for  them.  The  Anglo-Saxon  differs 
from  the  Oriental  as  much  as  the  Oriental  differs  from 
the  Anglo-Saxon,  but  the  Anglo-Saxon  has  put  all  the 
mysteriousness  with  the  Oriental.  He  does  not  seem 
to  realize  that  he  is  as  far  from  being  a  mathemat- 
ically demonstrated  proposition  as  is  the  brother  in 
colors.  The  European  and  the  American  have  made 
grievous  blunders  in  their  efforts  to  reach  the  Chi- 
nese, the  Japanese,  the  Koreans,  and  the  Hindoos  be- 
cause of  their  lack  of  appreciation  of  the  Oriental 
spirit.  Because  the  Chinese  have  no  flocks,  no  herds, 
no  carriages,  no  pretty  farmhouses,  no  meadows,  no 
farms  except  the  garden  plots,  no  parks,  no  pleasure 
grounds,  no  trees  in  the  yards  would  be  no  reason 
for  thinking  they  have  no  ideas  of  beauty  or  home 
comforts.  They  may  have  no  science,  yet  they  have  a 
great  literature,  a  noble  history,  and  a  profound  phi- 
losophy. Their  religious  ideas  are  rooted  in  their 
deepest  convictions,  and  they  have  come  to  them 
through  long  centuries  of  worship  and  worthy  think- 
ing. The  orthodox  Confucianist  would  consider  it  as 
arrogant  an  assumption  to  suppose  that  anything  c«uld 
be  added  to  his  religious  wisdom  as  a  Christian  would 
for  one  to  claim  that  an  appendix  could  be  added  to 
the  New  Testament.  Missionaries  are  accustomed  to 
allude  to  the  material  well-being  and  political  ascend- 
ency which  have  come  to  their  countries  through 
Christianity.  When  one  speaks  of  the  power  and 
wealth   of   the   Christian   nations,   the   Oriental  only 

142 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

asks :  "What  has  that  to  do  with  religion  ?"  He  looks 
on  Christianity  as  an  instrument  of  depredation;  and 
since  the  people  of  the  East  have  come  to  believe  that 
commercial  exploitation  and  conquest  are  the  chief 
end  of  the  Western  governments,  they  cannot  look 
upon  the  religion  that  gave  them  such  a  spirit  and 
power  with  any  degree  of  toleration.  They  prefer 
their  rapturous  and  loving  worship,  their  renunciation 
and  self-surrender  and  comforting  contemplation  to 
any  religion  of  self-assertion  and  national  or  racial 
aggrandizement. 

The  benefactor  of  the  Orient  must  be  one  who  has 
first  been  a  student  of  the  customs,  conditions,  and 
spirit  of  the  peoples.  Too  many  missionaries  have 
gone  blindly  into  their  work  and  proceeded  as  though 
they  were  altogether  right  in  their  habits  of  life  and 
way  of  thinking,  and  that  those  to  whom  they  were 
sent  were  altogether  wrong.  Narrow,  provincial 
Christian  bigots  can  never  find  any  point  of  contact 
with  narrow,  provincial  heathen.  Men  must  proceed 
in  all  thinking  from  the  known  to  the  unknown ;  and 
unless  Christian  teachers  can  find  some  truth  in  the 
Oriental's  religion,  the  Oriental  will  likely  never  find 
any  truth  in  their  Christianity.  The  approach  to  truth 
is  different  with  different  people,  and  the  habits  of  a 
lifetime — yea,  even  of  the  life  of  a  race — will  make 
channels  through  which  alone  the  members  of  that 
race  can  receive  truth.  The  missionaries  who  have 
been  able  to  open  the  way  for  Christian  truth  have 
been  philosophers  who  understood  the  underlying  prin- 
ciples of  Eastern  mental  life  and  conduct.  Many 
Western  people  never  see  in  Christianity  anything 
more  than  a  round  of  ceremonies  and  ordinances  be- 

143 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

cause  Christianity  is  Oriental  in  its  origin  and  its 
whole  spirit  of  worship  is  Oriental  and  their  habit  of 
life  and  thought  is  anything  but  Oriental.  The  reli- 
gious teacher  who  is  sent  to  evangelize  the  Orient 
needs  a  knowledge  of  Oriental  philosophy,  Oriental 
religion,  and  the  Oriental  character  more  than  an  ac- 
quaintance with  Greek  roots  and  Hebrew  consonants. 
The  Church  should  furnish  different  equipment  for  her 
missionaries  to  that  which  she  has  usually  given  her 
pastors  for  the  home  land.  The  missionary  may  well 
study  the  political,  social,  and  religious  conditions  of 
the  country  to  which  he  goes,  and  the  peculiar  tem- 
perament of  the  people  so  far  as  their  literature  and 
philosophy  exhibit  their  spirit.  Buddhism,  Confucian- 
ism, Taoism,  Shintoism  may  be  studied  in  the  schools. 
In  fact,  a  thorough  course  in  comparative  religion 
would  be  of  the  greatest  value  in  any  attempt  to  un- 
derstand the  religious  life  of  the  people,  and  pastors 
at  home  as  well  as  the  missionaries  would  be  more 
competent  to  propagate  Christianity  if  they  knew  the 
real  teachings  of  other  religions.  Buddhism  and  Con- 
fucianism cannot  be  judged  any  more  from  what  one 
may  see  in  the  worship  of  ignorant  people  than  Chris- 
tianity can  be  judged  by  the  demonstration  at  a  negro 
camp  meeting.  It  is  hardly  fair  to  our  missionaries 
to  compel  them  to  learn  everything  about  the  religion 
and  habits  of  a  people  after  they  have  reached  the 
field. 

Missionaries  in  China  and  Japan  are  sometimes  ac- 
cused of  saying  that  the  native  preachers  want  to  push 
them  out.  I  do  not  believe  that  this  sentiment  is  ex- 
pressed by  many  missionaries.  Surely  a  missionary 
that  understands  the  Oriental  mind  and  Oriental  phi- 

1-14 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

losophy  and  who  is  appreciative  of  what  has  been  ac- 
complished by  the  people  that  he  serves  will  never  fail 
to  have  a  place  of  influence  in  the  countries  where  he 
is  giving  his  life.  When  a  missionary  becomes  dry, 
uninteresting,  unappreciative,  and  economical  with  his 
energy,  the  chances  are  that  he  will  become  undesira- 
ble on  the  mission  fields  just  as  such  a  preacher  be- 
comes unacceptable  at  home.  Missionaries  may  lose 
or  even  lack  the  spiritual  glow  and  the  religious  zeal 
that  is  necessary  to  great  spiritual  movement,  and  the 
Church  may  die  on  their  hands.  Religion  that  is  sim- 
ply scholastic  may  have  a  very  intellectual  integrity 
and  yet  at  the  same  time  be  uninspiring  and  nonpro- 
ductive. Missionaries  who  are  deeply  spiritual,  thor- 
oughly consecrated,  energetically  active,  and  widely 
conversant  with  the  Eastern  mind  and  its  thought  will 
always  be  in  demand.  The  Church  has  been  fortunate 
in  having  many  such  laborers  in  its  foreign  fields. 

Christianity  is  making  healthy  progress  in  China 
and  Japan.  It  is  true  that  the  number  of  communi- 
cants is  not  large,  but  the  achievements  of  Christianity 
cannot  be  estimated  by  the  mem.bership  of  the  Church- 
es. In  China  missionaries  are  at  work  in  five  hundred 
and  sixty  cities.  The  precautions  which  are  observed 
in  admitting  members  into  the  Churches,  if  observed 
in  the  United  States,  would  cut  down  the  number  of 
accessions  to  the  Churches  until  the  Churches  of  Amer- 
ica would  show  a  decrease  every  year.  These  precau- 
tions are  necessary  because  of  the  political  conditions. 
Men  have  sought  membership  in  the  Churches  as  a 
protection  against  unscrupulous  officials.  A  mission- 
ary may  make  an  appeal  for  a  person  who  is  accused 
of  misdemeanor  or  crime  to  a  higher  official  than  the 
XO  X45 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

magistrate,  and  his  appeal  may  be  heard  because  of 
the  fear  of  the  foreign  government  of  which  the  mis- 
sionary is  a  subject.  The  magistrate  may  lose  "face" 
if  the  accused  is  released  by  a  higher  official.  The 
Chinese  have  learned  of  the  possibility  of  protection 
by  virtue  of  being  a  member  of  the  foreigner's  Church, 
and  many  have  united  with  the  Church  to  secure  this 
protection.  So  the  missionaries  have  been  compelled 
to  act  very  slowly  in  the  reception  of  members.  The 
present  membership  of  the  Churches  does  not  repre- 
sent the  real  strength  of  Christianity  in  the  empire. 

The  work  of  the  medical  missionary  in  China  is  not 
yet  finished,  as  not  many  Chinese  physicians  have 
learned  much  medical  science.  It  is  very  gratifying  to 
know  that  a  few  men,  some  of  whom  had  their  train- 
ing in  mission  hospitals,  are  very  skillful.  In  Japan 
the  native  physicians  are  as  good  as  the  foreign  phy- 
sicians who  would  go  out  as  missionaries,  as  in  most 
cases  only  young,  inexperienced  men  go  as  mission- 
aries. The  school  in  China  still  has  a  great  field,  while 
in  Japan  the  very  fine  educational  system  has  made  it 
necessary  for  mission  schools  to  be  of  the  first  class 
or  cease  to  exist.  The  greatest  problem  in  both  coun- 
tries is  the  call  and  equipment  of  native  preachers. 
The  greatest  lack  in  both  countries  is  that  of  evan- 
gelistic work,  or  what  in  America  would  be  called  the 
work  of  the  ministry.  The  missionaries  in  Korea 
have  always  put  the  emphasis  on  preaching,  and  the 
wonderful  fruits  which  are  to-day  being  harvested 
have  demonstrated  the  wisdom  of  such  procedure. 
Missionaries  of  every  denomination  are  quite  ready 
to  say  that  the  need  of  all  the  fields  is  a  larger  evan- 
gelistic force.    But  as  I  said  in  a  previous  chapter,  the 

146 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

only  way  to  increase  the  evangelistic  force  is  to  in- 
crease the  missionary  force,  as  the  schools  and  hos- 
pitals cannot  spare  any  workers  from  their  present 
corps.  The  schools  are  indispensable  and  must  be 
strongly  manned,  but  the  Church  must  rally  to  the 
call  of  the  field  for  more  laborers  in  the  evangelistic 
work. 

Christianity  will  not  win  China  in  a  generation,  and 
any  extraordinary  movement  toward  the  acceptance  of 
the  Christian  doctrine  could  scarcely  be  expected.  The 
acceptance  of  Christianity  must  necessarily  mean  a 
great  social  and  political  regeneration  in  China.  A  re- 
ligion that  would  affect  conduct  and  establish  high  eth- 
ical standards  must  begin  with  national  as  well  as  per- 
sonal regeneration.  A  government  that  maintains  it- 
self by  graft  and  upholds  the  whole  system  of  the 
"squeeze"  and  that  in  no  way  frowns  upon  gambling 
and  that  has  no  conception  of  the  sovereignty  of  the 
individual  must  feel  the  force  of  a  powerful  public 
opinion  before  it  recognizes  the  principles  of  a  Chris- 
tian nation.  The  great  masses  of  the  Chinese  live  in 
the  darkness  of  frightful  superstitions.  Christianity 
could  not  be  appreciated  to  any  extent  by  such  people 
until  they  become  somewhat  mentally  enlightened. 
Christianity  will  never  have  a  real  chance  in  China 
until  the  government  establishes  and  maintains  a  com- 
petent school  system.  Mission  schools  have  accom- 
plished wonderful  results,  but  they  can  never  be  nu- 
merous enough  nor  sufficiently  equipped  to  meet  the 
demands  for  education  in  such  an  empire.  A  mission 
school  is  a  missionary  agency ;  and  when  it  fails  to 
make  converts  to  Christianity,  it  may  be  closed  so  far 
as  the  Church  is  concerned.     To  be  sure,  the  institu- 

147 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

tions  of  the  Church  in  the  non-Christian  lands  are 
humanitarian,  yet  their  primary  object  is  the  conver- 
sion of  the  people  to  Christianity.  With  an  incom- 
petent and  corrupt  government,  with  no  educational 
system  to  reach  even  a  small  percentage  of  the  people, 
with  practically  no  humanitarian  institutions,  with  no 
science  of  healing,  with  gross  superstitions  that  are 
founded  on  a  doctrine  of  demonology,  with  a  fearful 
belief  in  ancestor  worship  permeating  the  whole  na- 
tional life,  with  few  means  for  spreading  enlighten- 
ing information,  and  with  a  fanatical  opposition  to 
the  foreigner,  China  offers  many  obstacles  to  the  prog- 
ress of  Christianity  within  her  borders.  But  the 
"promises  of  God  are  sure,"  and  the  Christian's  duty 
to  send  the  missionary  was  never  plainer  than  it  is 
to-day.  Knowledge  of  the  difficulties  should  stir  the 
Church  to  send  large  reenforcements.  Marvelous 
achievements  have  already  crowned  the  labors  of  the 
missionary.  China  will  some  day  be  ready  to  hear 
the  message  of  the  Christ.  The  Christian  Church  has 
the  light  for  the  world,  and  she  should  keep  it  burn- 
ing in  every  place  until  every  man  shall  find  the  way 
of  life. 

Korea  is  an  open  field  and  invites  the  missionary 
with  great  promises  of  rich  harvests.  But  Christian- 
ity in  Korea  must  be  of  the  Korean's  type.  The 
characteristics  of  the  Korean  and  his  nation  will  nat- 
urally modify  more  or  less  the  Christianity  which 
may  be  expected  in  the  Hermit  Empire.  Japan  is  a 
challenge  to-day  to  the  Christian  world  and  to  the 
faith  of  the  Christian  Church.  The  people  are  in- 
quirers after  truth,  and  the  government  is  equipping 
its  subjects  for  world's  citizenship.     Christianity  has 

148 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

no  opposition ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  it  has  been  in- 
vited to  present  its  case,  supported  by  its  argument; 
and  the  promise  has  been  made  that  it  will  be  duly 
considered.  It  is  true  that  ordinary  men,  intellectually 
or  spiritually,  cannot  accomplish  very  much  in  the 
missions  of  Japan;  but  men  who  know  and  can  ex- 
pound and  defend  Christianity  and  who  understand 
Oriental  and  Christian  philosophy  and  who  have  spir- 
its like  the  Master's  can  perform  a  world's  service  in 
the  mission  stations  of  the  Sunrise  Kingdom.  If  the 
first  work  among  the  native  Christians  has  been  prop- 
erly done,  they  will  welcome  all  laborers  from  the 
home  field  who  can  really  assist  in  planting  the  ban- 
ner of  Christianity  in  the  high  places  of  their  enter- 
prising nation.  Japan  wants  preachers  of  the  gospel 
of  Jesus  Christ  who  can  give  the  bread  of  life  to  the 
people  and  who  can  lead  them  by  the  light  of  their 
own  lives  into  the  experience  of  genuine  salvation. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  may  have 
a  just  pride  in  her  missions  in  the  Orient  and  in  the 
men  who  have  undergone  great  personal  sacrifices  to 
bring  success  to  Christianity  in  those  lands.  But  no 
man  can  visit  these  various  stations  without  feeling 
that  Southern  Methodism  should  enter  twice  as  many 
doors  as  she  has  entered.  The  work  is  cramped  at 
every  point  by  the  lack  of  funds.  Churches  should 
be  built,  some  school  buildings  erected,  some  schools 
for  ministers  established,  and  new  fields  opened;  but 
the  money  is  not  at  hand.  When  will  the  Church 
awake  to  its  opportunity  in  these  Eastern  lands  ?  The 
missionaries  are  doing  all  that  could  be  expected  of 
them.  They  need  help  and  the  help  of  the  men  in 
authority.     Why  has  the  Church  at  home  considered 

149 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

that  all  its  general  superintendents  should  live  within 
the  bounds  of  the  territory  in  the  United  States,  and 
that  a  mission  field  upon  which  is  spent  a  quarter  of 
a  million  dollars  annually  should  be  administered  al- 
most entirely  by  authorities  who  are  seven  thousand 
miles  away  and  who  cannot  communicate  with  the 
field  in  less  than  two  months  ?  No  business  firm  would 
adopt  such  a  policy.  Our  Church  instructs  its  Col- 
lege of  Bishops  to  send  a  general  superintendent  to 
China,  Japan,  and  Korea  once  in  two  years,  and  that 
for  a  visit  of  only  two  to  three  weeks  in  each  coun- 
try. For  the  rest  of  the  two  years  the  missionaries 
must  depend  entirely  upon  the  mails  for  instructions 
and  for  plans.  If  the  College  of  Bishops  had  the 
authority  to  designate  one  of  its  number  who  would 
make  his  home  in  Shanghai  four  years  and  superin- 
tend the  whole  field  of  China,  Japan,  and  Korea  for 
a  quadrennium,  then  it  would  appear  that  the  Church 
meant  to  give  the  Orient  as  thorough  a  general  super- 
intendency  as  it  gives  the  field  at  home.  A  bishop  who 
would  live  on  the  field  for  a  quadrennium  could  ad- 
minister the  work  continually  with  zeal,  intelligence, 
and  force.  By  the  present  plan  the  bishop  in  charge 
of  these  missions  is  burdened  with  duties  of  the  Church 
at  home  as  soon  as  he  returns,  and  he  cannot  give  the 
foreign  field  the  attention  which  it  deserves  and  really 
requires.  The  work  in  China  should  have  to-day  vig- 
orous support  from  one  in  authority  who  is  intelligent- 
ly alive  to  the  needs  of  the  field.  The  wonderful  de- 
velopment in  Korea  puts  great  responsibility  upon  the 
missionaries  there.  They  need  a  superintendent  with 
episcopal  power  who  can  direct  in  conserving  the  great 
results  of  the  work.     The  problems  that  constantly 

150 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

arise  in  the  missions  in  Japan  because  of  the  new 
conditions  incident  to  the  formation  of  the  Methodist 
Church  of  Japan  should  have  prompt  attention  from 
one  who  is  the  authorized  representative  of  the  Church. 
Many  adjustments  are  naturally  necessary,  and  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South,  has  too  great  in- 
terests in  Japan  to  allow  important  matters  at  any  time 
to  drift  until  proper  action  can  be  taken  by  the  author- 
ities in  America.  The  missionaries  in  these  fields 
whom  I  have  consulted  are  greatly  in  favor  of  a 
bishop  being  assigned  to  the  Orient  for  four  years  at 
a  time.  They  rightly  feel  that  this  work  warrants 
such  consideration  from  the  Church.  The  assignment 
may  be  made  by  the  College  of  Bishops  or  in  any  way 
which  the  Church  through  the  General  Conference 
may  adopt.  If  I  were  asked  what  I  considered  the 
greatest  need  of  our  missions  in  China,  Japan,  and 
Korea,  I  would  surely  say  a  resident  bishop,  and  the 
wisest  and  the  most  forceful  administrator  in  the 
whole  College.  I  would  not  discount  in  any  sense 
the  remarkable  work  which  has  been  accomplished 
through  the  present  plan;  but  if  we  are  to  progress 
at  a  worthy  speed  in  the  future,  a  resident  bishop 
would  be  a  powerful  factor. 

151 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Touching  Britain  in  the  Orient. 

WHO  would  think  of  reaching  English  soil  in  a 
two  days'  voyage  from  Shanghai,  the  foreign 
capital  of  the  Orient?  At  midday  of  March  24  our 
good  steamer,  Prinz  Ludwig,  lifted  anchor  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Hwang  Po,  and  on  the  morning  of 
March  27  we  awoke  to  find  ourselves  at  the  dock  in 
the  harbor  of  Hongkong,  the  finest  in  the  Far  East 
and  one  of  the  finest  in  the  world.  A  pretentious 
youth  was  once  passing  various  criticisms  on  China 
and  the  Chinese,  and  his  less  loquacious  but  better  in- 
formed fellow-traveler  asked  him  if  he  had  traveled 
much- in  China,  seen  Peking,  Hankow,  Nanking,  and 
the  great  interior.  The  youth  confessed  that  he  had 
seen  only  Hongkong.  "Why,"  said  the  older  man, 
"you  have  not  been  in  China;  Hongkong  is  not  in 
China,  but  is  owned  and  controlled  by  the  English 
government."  In  1841  the  hilly  island  of  Hongkong, 
eleven  miles  long,  two  to  five  miles  wide,  and  twenty- 
seven  miles  in  circumference,  was  ceded  by  China  to 
Great  Britain.  The  British  have  built  upon  it  a  great 
city  with  a  population  of  325,000  people,  the  real  name 
of  which  is  Victoria,  although  it  is  commonly  known 
as  Hongkong.  The  government  of  the  island  is  sim- 
ilar to  that  of  most  English  possessions.  The  Gov- 
ernor is  appointed  by  the  authorities  in  London,  and 
is  responsible  for  the  government  of  the  island.  He 
is  aided  by  an  executive  council  composed  of  five  offi- 

152 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

cials  and  two  unofficial  members  of  the  community. 
The  legislative  coimcil  is  presided  over  by  the  Gov- 
ernor, and  is  composed  of  the  officer  commanding  the 
troops,  the  Colonial  Secretary,  the  Attorney-General, 
the  Registrar  General,  the  Director  of  Public  Works, 
the  Harbor  Master,  the  Captain  of  Police,  and  six 
unofficial  members,  one  of  whom  is  elected  by  the 
Chamber  of  Commerce  and  another  by  the  justices  of 
the  peace.  The  other  four,  two  of  whom  are  Chinese, 
are  appointed  by  the  Governor.  The  government  of 
the  colony  is  very  largely  in  the  hands  of  the  Gov- 
ernor, as  the  various  officials  who  compose  the  coun- 
cils and  governing  bodies  are  his  own  appointees. 

How  beautiful  is  Hongkong,  nestled  in  the  narrow 
space  between  the  mountains  and  the  sea!  The  city 
is  only  two  to  four  blocks  deep  and  skirts  the  harbor 
for  three  or  four  miles.  Two  of  the  main  streets,  on 
which  now  stand  some  of  the  city's  finest  buildings 
and  the  finest  in  the  East,  have  been  taken  from  the 
sea.  These  buildings  of  four  or  five  stories  in  height, 
with  colonnades  on  the  streets,  give  the  tourist  a  most 
pleasing  impression  upon  his  introduction  to  this  East- 
ern city.  Immediately  behind  the  few  business  streets 
are  the  public  gardens  filled  with  the  most  luxuriant 
flowers  and  shrubbery,  while  the  entire  hillside  shows 
the  hand  of  the  skilled  landscape  gardener.  Former- 
ly the  island  was  destitute  of  foliage,  but  now  the 
young  forests  planted  by  the  government  furnish  a 
beauty  which  is  unexcelled  even  by  rare  and  rich 
Honolulu.  The  houses,  large  and  handsome,  rising 
tier  upon  tier  from  the  water's  edge  to  a  height  of  over 
five  hundred  feet,  along  with  the  ample  gardens  of 
rich  tropical  foliage,  give  the  city  of  Victoria  an  ap- 

153 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

pearance  of  magnificence  which  no  traveler  will  soon 
forget.  The  mountains  rise  rapidly  until  they  culmi- 
nate in  Victoria  Peak  at  a  height  of  1,823  feet.  A 
cable  car  carries  passengers  up  a  distance  of  more 
than  one  thousand  feet,  and  then  the  chair  coolies  will 
be  glad  to  do  the  rest  for  a  reasonable  sum.  However, 
a  fine  road  leads  from  the  train  station  to  the  summit 
and  offers  as  fine  views  of  the  hills  and  the  harbor  as 
human  eyes  ever  feasted  upon.  From  the  summit  the 
view  of  the  harbor,  which  is  as  notable  for  its  beauty 
as  for  its  safety  and  capacity,  is  one  of  the  mental 
treasures  with  which  no  traveler  would  willingly  part. 

On  the  Victoria  Peak  is  a  flagstaff  from  which  the 
approach  of  mail  steamers  and  other  vessels  is  sig- 
naled. The  Hongkong  harbor  cannot  be  entered  with- 
out the  knowledge  of  the  military  as  well  as  civil  au- 
thorities. The  garrison  is  about  five  hundred  feet  be- 
low the  summit.  It  consists  of  three  companies  of 
royal  artillery,  one  company  of  royal  engineers,  one 
battalion  of  infantry  army  service  corps,  royal  medical 
corps,  four  Indian  infantry  battalions,  four  companies 
of  native  artillery,  one  local  company  of  native  engi- 
neers, and  a  volunteer  corps  of  one  troop  of  mounted 
infantry,  two  companies  of  garrison  artillery,  and  one 
company  of  engineers.  The  approaches  to  the  harbor 
are  strongly  fortified.  The  city  possesses  a  small 
squadron  for  harbor  defense.  An  excellent  navy  yard 
is  in  the  harbor.  Hongkong  is  the  English  Gibraltar 
of  the  East,  and  will  be  the  base  for  any  operations 
which  England  may  be  called  upon  to  institute  in 
maintaining  her  position  among  the  nations  of  the 
Orient. 

The  voyage  from  Shanghai  was  extremely  pleasant 
164 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

not  only  because  of  the  smooth  sea,  but  because  of  the 
perceptible  change  in  the  climate.  The  biting  atmos- 
phere of  Japan  and  China  during  February  and  March 
made  the  voyage  to  the  South  all  the  more  desirable. 
Overcoats,  heavy  underwear,  and  chilly  sensations  the 
thin-blooded  Southerner  was  glad  to  be  rid  of,  even 
if  the  other  extreme  was  only  a  few  days  away.  The 
maximum  temperature  for  Hongkong  is  ninety-four 
degrees,  the  minimum  thirty-six,  and  the  mean  is  sev- 
enty-one. The  mean  rainfall  is  eighty-six  inches. 
While  the  natural  productions  of  the  island  are  few 
and  unimportant  and  nothing  is  grown  except  a  little 
rice  and  a  few  vegetables,  yet  the  rains  furnish  nu- 
merous streams  which  water  the  well-kept  city.  The 
equableness  of  the  climate,  the  beauty  of  the  homes, 
the  hills  and  the  harbor,  the  accessibility  to  China  and 
the  Eastern  lands  make  Hongkong  a  desirable  place 
for  a  residence.  Of  the  325,000  people,  310,000  are 
Chinese;  but  they  appreciate  the  government  under 
which  they  live.  The  city  has  four  daily  English 
newspapers,  two  weeklies,  and  eight  native  papers.  It 
has  large  manufactories,  among  them  being  three  large 
sugar  refineries,  a  rope  factory,  a  glass,  a  soap,  and 
four  match  factories,  a  feather-cleaning  and  packing 
establishment,  cotton  mills  with  55,000  spindles,  a  pa- 
per mill,  and  a  brewery.  The  value  of  the  property 
of  the  city  is  about  $9,000,000.  The  annual  trade  of 
the  port,  imports  and  exports,  reaches  $250,000,000. 

The  day  spent  in  this  beautiful,  enterprising  city 
was  a  joy  to  the  travelers  on  their  way  from  China  to 
India.  It  was  a  matter  of  sincere  regret  that  we  did 
not  have  time  to  go  to  Canton,  ninety  miles  away,  and 
get  a  view  of  the  greatest  city  in  Southern  China  and 

155 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

the  one  from  which  America  is  suppHed  with  her  Chi- 
nese population.  But  the  clock  struck  five,  the  coarse 
whistle  sounded  its  farewell,  and  the  ship  throbbed 
with  life  and  movement.  Such  a  din  of  bursting  fire- 
crackers all  over  the  harbor  I  had  never  heard.  A 
dozen  launches  steamed  by  the  ship,  and  the  noise  was 
deafening.  Chinese  colors  were  waving  from  boat  and 
barge,  from  shore  and  sea.  On  inquiry  it  was  found 
that  a  Chinese  gentleman,  with  some  of  his  wives  and 
children,  a  retinue  of  servants  and  attendants,  had  come 
aboard  our  steamer  and  was  leaving  Hongkong  for 
Penang,  to  which  he  had  been  appointed  Consul  Gen- 
eral for  his  government.  This  Chinese  custom  of  cel- 
ebrating any  special  event  in  the  life  of  a  fellow-citizen 
is  very  beautiful.  The  Chinese  will  always  touch  off 
a  few  firecrackers  when  he  desires  to  show  honor  to 
his  friends. 

From  Hongkong  to  Singapore  the  water  was  as 
smooth  as  a  lake  and  the  breezes  as  balmy  as  the 
tropical  sun  and  a  beneficent  sea  could  make  them. 
The  ship's  company  had  worn  off  the  strangeness, 
and  the  fellowship  was  genial.  Among  the  passengers 
was  a  Russian  general  from  Vladivostok,  whose  nu- 
merous death  sentences  passed  upon  soldiers  in  his 
court-martials  made  him  choose  the  long  jour'ney  by 
a  German  steamer  in  preference  to  the  uncertain  travel 
on  the  Trans-Siberian  Railway.  His  kindly  face  and 
gentle  demeanor  in  no  way  indicated  the  harshness  of 
his  decisions  which  his  record  had  confirmed.  At 
Hongkong  we  received  the  Registrar  General  of  the 
island,  who  was  going  home  for  a  rest.  Quite  a  large 
number  of  clerks  and  minor  officials  who  had  done 
service  in  the  East,  several  traveling  representatives 

156 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

of  business  firms,  and  some  gentlemen  of  commerce 
were  passengers.  During  the  day  these  gentlemen 
went  quite  negligee  and  exhibited  at  different  hours 
the  various  articles  of  their  summer  wardrobe.  One 
young  Englishman  told  me  that  he  did  not  bring  many 
clothes,  and  that  he  had  only  nine  pairs  of  "breeches." 
I  liked  the  term.  These  English  youngsters  and  the 
rest  of  these  Eastern  travelers  would  come  to  the 
"dinner"  table  (they  have  lost  supper  entirely  in  places 
of  pretension)  in  their  dress  suits.  Wherever  we  trav- 
eled in  the  East  the  Englishman  would  don  his  dress 
suit  for  his  evening  dinner.  It  is  told  on  the  English 
that  if  a  man  is  camping  in  the  jungles  he  will  lay 
aside  his  all-day  suit  and  put  on  his  dress  suit  to  sit 
down  to  his  evening  meal,  even  if  he  eats  absolutely 
alone.    I  admire  his  zeal,  but  question  his  judgment. 

Singapore  harbor  was  reached  at  noon,  but  the  ship 
did  not  pass  quarantine  and  get  to  dock  until  five 
o'clock.  The  day  was  not  "middling"  warm  but  "blaz- 
ing" hot.  Only  six  days  previous  we  boarded  the 
Prinz  Ludwig  wrapped  in  overcoats  and  incased  in 
flannels.  It  was  then  a  matter  as  to  how  much  we 
could  put  on,  while  now  it  was  how  little  could  we 
leave  on.  The  natives  had  evidently  long  ceased  to 
debate  the  question,  as  they  were  enveloped  only  in 
sunshine  and  a  loin  cloth.  A  Turkish  bath  with  its 
steaming  process  is  always  ready  for  those  who  dis- 
embark at  Singapore.  But  this  city  is  only  one  and 
one-fourth  degrees,  or  less  than  ninety  miles,  from  the 
equator,  and  its  climate  is  always  equably  hot.  More 
than  200,000  people  live  there,  a  large  percentage  of 
whom  are  Chinese.  The  natives  are  Malays,  black 
and  shiny ;  but  they  have  been  driven  to  a  subordinate 

157 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

place  in  society  because  of  their  physical  weakness, 
their  mental  incapacity,  and  their  temporal  incompe- 
tency. There  are  two  to  three  thousand  Europeans. 
The  government  officials  and  the  regiments  of  soldiers 
are  English.  The  Governor's  residence  is  an  elegant 
building  delightfully  located  on  a  promontory  and  sur- 
rounded by  a  luxuriant  garden  through  which  there 
are  beautiful  driveways.  The  garrison  occupies  a 
choice  section  of  the  city,  and  is  well  furnished  for 
the  comfort  of  soldiers  and  officers.  The  streets  of  the 
city  are  broad,  and  in  certain  sections  they  are  over- 
arched by  the  branches  of  great  trees.  The  district 
that  is  filled  with  the  native  shops  is  wanting  in  al- 
most everything  except  filth  and  persistent  odors.  The 
botanical  gardens  are  the  finest  to  be  found  in  the 
East.  The  beds  of  orchids  and  ferns  cannot  be  excelled. 
The  richness  of  tropical  vegetation  can  be  seen  in 
these  rare  gardens.  In  the  tall  trees  untamed  monkeys 
play  with  their  native  abandon  while  the  songsters 
chant  their  chords  never  heard  by  those  who  live  in 
the  more  northerly  climates.  In  another  part  of  the 
city  were  the  great  cocoanut  plantations  whose  har- 
vests bring  wealth  to  the  island.  The  grace  of  the 
cocoanut  palm,  the  kindly  expanse  of  the  traveler's 
palm,  the  full  wealth  of  the  betel  nut  tree,  the  laden 
stalks  of  the  banana,  the  occasional  appearance  of  the 
nutmeg  bush  all  made  this  visit  to  the  tropics  a  per- 
fect delight.  We  forgot  the  dirty,  sloven,  ramshackle 
huts  of  the  natives  and  the  squalor  and  unseemly  looks 
of  these  black  sons  of  the  tropics  in  our  sight-seeing 
and  in  our  ecstasies  over  the  joys  which  the  white 
man  has  brought  to  Singapore ;  but  we  found  a  man 
and  his  associates  who  had  not  forgotten  these  needy 

158 


MALAY   HOUSE   IN    SINGAPORE. 


STREET   SCENE   IN    SINGAPORE. 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

people.  He  is  a  missionary  whose  zeal  never  lessens, 
whose  body  seems  never  to  tire,  and  whose  labor  is 
given  without  stint  for  the  benefit  of  these  whose 
minds  and  hearts  are  darker  than  their  bodies. 

Just  before  leaving  Shanghai  I  met  Bishop  W,  F. 
Oldham  and  Bishop  J.  E.  Robinson,  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  who  gave  me  letters  of  introduction 
to  their  missionaries  in  Singapore,  Rangoon,  Calcutta, 
and  various  cities  in  India.  So,  arriving  in  Singapore, 
I  telephoned  Rev.  W.  T,  Cherry,  the  Manager  of  the 
Publishing  House,  and  inquired  for  information  as  to 
a  proper  place  to  spend  our  two  days  in  Singapore. 
His  prompt  reply  was:  "Come  up."  We  went  "up" 
and  on  to  his  home,  and  there  we  spent  two  as  delight- 
ful days  as  ever  came  to  travelers  in  a  foreign  land. 
Canadian-born  were  the  missionary  and  his  wife, 
trained  in  the  Northern  schools,  yet  no  Southerners 
could  have  given  us  larger  hospitality  and  more  joyful 
entertainment.  They  helped  us  to  see  Singapore.  The 
new  press  building  is  almost  completed.  It  is  a  fine 
structure,  located  on  one  of  the  most  desirable  streets 
in  the  city.  It  will  be  a  center  for  all  the  work  on  the 
Malay  Peninsula  and  on  the  surrounding  islands.  Mr. 
Cherry  is  not  only  the  Agent  of  the  Publishing  House, 
but  is  presiding  elder  of  the  district  and  pastor  of  the 
Malay  Church.  The  work  among  the  Chinese  in  Sin- 
gapore is  exceedingly  encouraging,  while  the  Church 
for  English  and  Eurasians  is  self-supporting.  Bishop 
Oldham  has  his  home  in  Singapore,  and  exercises  epis- 
copal jurisdiction  over  the  Philippines.  The  Church 
in  educational  and  evangelistic  work  is  to  be  congrat- 
ulated upon  its  results,  but  it  is  really  now  only  at  the 
threshold  of  its  opportunity  in  that  section. 

159 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

We  changed  steamers  at  Singapore  and  took  the  Pal- 
atana.  It  was  a  poor  craft,  but  tlie  passengers  kept 
up  fine  spirits.  In  thirty-six  hours  we  anchored  in  the 
harbor  of  Penang,  another  island  belonging  to  Great 
Britain  in  the  colony  known  as  the  Straits  Settlements, 
which  comprises  Singapore,  Penang,  the  Keeling  Is- 
lands, the  Dinding  Islands,  the  province  of  Malacca, 
and  the  province  of  Wellesley.  They  have  formed  a 
British  colony  since  1867,  previous  to  which  time  they 
were  administered  as  a  presidency  of  the  Indian  Em- 
pire. They  have  a  government  similar  to  that  of 
Hongkong,  issue  their  own  money,  and  attend  to  their 
own  affairs.  Penang  has  a  population  of  about  100,- 
000,  most  of  whom  are  Chinese  and  many  of  whom 
are  quite  wealthy.  The  residences  of  some  of  these 
Chinese  merchants  are  veritable  palaces,  while  their 
fine  horses  and  carriages  and  automobiles  enable  them 
to  make  the  usual  exhibit  of  those  who  make  preten- 
sions to  financial  aristocracy.  A  ride  by  the  tram 
(everything  is  tram  east  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean)  to 
the  Chinese  temple  gave  an  excellent  view  of  the 
finest  cocoanut  plantations  in  the  world.  They  fur- 
nish the  source  of  wealth  in  the  Straits  Settlements. 
The  drive  to  the  botanical  gardens  gave  a  good  view 
of  the  magnificent  public  and  private  buildings,  as 
well  as  the  slovenly  hovels  and  the  filthy  shops  which 
can  be  found  in  Penang.  The  Chinese  Buddhist  tem- 
ple is  a  marvel  in  its  beauty  and  adornment.  On  the 
way  out  we  saw  several  carriages  carrying  barrels  of 
silver  paper  (joss  money)  to  be  burned  in  the  temple 
for  the  use  of  those  departed.  On  the  altar  in  the 
temple  stood  large  bowls  of  choice  viands  of  which 
the  spirits  partook  while  the  priests  chanted  and  of 
•     160 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

which  the  priests  partook  after  the  worshipei's  de- 
parted. But  a  great  Light  has  come  into  the  world, 
and  the  darkened  nations  shall  yet  see  Him  who  giveth 
life  and  showeth  men  the  Father. 

When  our  steamer,  Palatana,  left  Singapore  we  ex- 
pected to  have  only  a  few  hours  in  Rangoon,  the  cap- 
ital of  the  province  of  Burma  and  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant cities  in  the  East.  But  travel  by  ship  is  less 
certain  than  travel  by  rail,  as  the  entrance  into  ports, 
the  interviews  with  the  customs  officer,  and  the  trans- 
shipping which  is  necessary  give  the  traveler  occasion- 
ally more  time  at  some  places  than  he  would  desire. 
However,  time  would  not  hang  heavily  on  any  tourist 
in  Burma  and  its  metropolis.  The  crowded  condition 
of  the  jetty  prevented  our  ship  from  coming  to  the 
dock  for  several  hours;  but  the  ever-present  sampan 
was  ready  to  take  us  ashore  for  one  anna  (two  cents) 
a  person,  and  so  we  were  soon  comfortably  quartered 
in  the  hotel.  It  was  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
and  the  heat  was  intense.  Our  safety  demanded  that 
there  be  no  exposure  at  that  time  of  the  day  or  up 
to  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  to  the  vicious  sun- 
shine. The  heat  in  the  shade  may  be  endured ;  but  the 
direct  beams  of  the  blazing  sun  upon  a  white  man's 
head,  neck,  and  back  would  soon  fell  the  strongest 
with  a  severe  sunstroke.  The  white  residents  take  no 
chances  with  Rangoon's  sunshine.  The  Burmese  and 
the  other  races  who  now  live  in  Rangoon  are  more 
able  to  endure  the  sunshine  than  the  Europeans  or 
the  Eurasians,  as  the  mixed  race  in  which  there  is 
European  and  Asiatic  blood  is  called.  A  traveler  from 
America  will  find  these  Asiatic  people  of  the  lower 
classes  simply  or  sky  clad.  In  the  passing  throng  on 
11  IGI 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

the  streets  or  among  the  keepers  of  stalls  in  bazaars 
or  laborers  in  the  market  places  the  bare  black  back 
is  as  common,  if  not  more  so,  than  the  coat,  the  shirt, 
or  the  native  toga.  In  the  hotels  and  also  on  the 
steamers  the  table  and  chamber  servants  may  have 
on  their  immaculate  white  garments,  but  their  feet 
know  not  the  restrictions  of  a  calf's  skin  or  a  kid's 
pelt.  The  carriage  drivers,  as  well  as  the  laborers 
on  the  streets,  have  never  been  troubled  with  fashions 
in  shoes  or  even  the  fastening  of  shoe  laces.  Occa- 
sionally a  leader  of  the  ultrasocial  set  will  take  to 
the  ways  of  his  white  associates  and,  although  he  has 
no  hat  and  his  toga  may  leave  his  legs  bare,  he  will 
put  on  his  feet,  with  stockings,  a  pair  of  glistening 
patent  leather  "pumps"  and  spread  over  his  lofty  head 
a  black  umbrella,  a  thing  which  furnishes  little  pro- 
tection in  the  burning  rays  of  the  tropical  sun  but 
great  satisfaction  to  his  exalted  feelings.  But  the 
strange  thing  about  the  people  of  Rangoon,  the  capi- 
tal of  Burma,  is  that  the  large  majority  of  them  are 
not  Burmese.  The  streets  were  filled  with  people  one 
morning,  and  I  asked  a  resident  of  Rangoon,  whose 
kindness  to  us  will  not  be  forgotten,  to  point  out  the 
Burmese,  and  he  could  find  only  one  in  the  large  com- 
pany. There  were  many  Tamilese  from  Lower  India, 
some  Indians  from  Madras,  some  from  Northern  India 
provinces,  and  Mohammedans,  but  the  Burmese  were 
not  numerous  anywhere.  The  country  is  filling  very 
fast  with  people  from  India.  This  is  due  in  part  to 
the  fact  that  India  is  crowded  and  the  overflow  must 
seek  other  lands,  but  it  is  due  more  to  the  well- 
known  disinclination  of  the  Burmese  to  give  them- 
selves to  any  strenuous  labor.     The  men  of  Burma 

162 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

are  lazy,  and  they  depend  in  a  large  measure  upon 
their  women  for  their  support.  The  women  are  the 
moneymakers.  I  was  told  of  a  Burmese  who  was  a 
clerk  in  some  business  establishment  at  sixty  rupees 
(twenty  dollars)  a  month  while  his  wife  had  a  mer- 
cantile business  of  her  own  and  drove  in  the  after- 
noons in  one  of  the  best  turnouts  of  the  city.  Her 
husband  was  permitted  to  accompany  her  on  her 
drives.  The  men  are  inclined  to  consider  themselves 
gentlemen  of  the  kind  who  frown  upon  labor.  This 
element  in  the  character  of  the  Burmese  may  lead  to 
the  peopling  of  his  country  with  a  more  enterprising 
and  strenuous  race. 

Burma  has  been  an  English  province  under  the 
Viceroy  of  India  since  January  i,  1886,  when  King 
Thebaw  was  dethroned  and  sent  to  a  small  city  south 
of  Bombay,  where  he  still  lives  under  surveillance. 
Previous  to  this  time  England  owned  several  districts 
of  Burma.  In  fact,  she  had  been  gradually  acquiring 
the  territory  of  Burma  for  many  years  by  the  con- 
quests which  were  made  when  small  principalities 
would  harass  the  English  forces.  Since  1897  the  prov- 
ince has  had  its  own  Lieutenant  Governor,  whose  resi- 
dence is  in  Rangoon.  The  old  capital  of  the  country 
was  Mandalay,  which  is  a  city  of  200,000  people  about 
four  hundred  miles  from  Rangoon.  Occasionally  the 
Lieutenant  Governor  makes  his  residence  for  a  few 
months  in  IMandalay.  So  Burma  has  its  own  pro- 
vincial government  and  its  own  army.  Government 
buildings  and  buildings  for  the  courts  are  superior 
to  most  of  the  State  buildings  in  our  own  common- 
wealths. The  army  in  Rangoon  consists  of  three  or 
four  regiments,  with  a  force  of  artillery.     The  can- 

163 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

tonment,  the  army  post,  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
and  best-kept  parts  of  the  city. 

Burma  has  an  area  of  236,738  square  miles,  and  has 
a  population  of  about  ii,cxx),ooo  people.  Eighty-eight 
per  cent  of  the  population  are  Buddhists  in  religion. 
Every  Burman  is  supposed  to  spend  a  certain  part  of 
his  life  as  a  monk,  whether  he  adopts  the  sacred  call- 
ing ultimately  or  not.  The  monks  are  the  schoolmas- 
ters of  the  country,  although  many  of  them  are  too 
ignorant  to  be  teachers  of  any  merit.  The  shaven 
head  and  the  yellow  robe  are  the  marks  of  the  sacred 
order,  and  they  may  be  seen  in  any  collection  of  peo- 
ple. •  Because  of  the  nimiber  of  Buddhists  in  Burma, 
the  pagodas  and  monasteries  form  the  chief  objects 
of  interest  throughout  Burma.  The  finest  pagoda  in 
the  world  and  the  most  venerable  and  most  universally 
visited  of  all  places  of  worship  in  Indo-China  is  the 
Shwe  Dagon  Pagoda,  in  Rangoon.  Its  sanctity  to 
Buddhists  is  due  to  the  actual  relics  of  Gautama  and 
three  Buddhas  who  preceded  him  which  it  contains. 
Countless  pilgrims  come  to  worship  not  only  from 
Burma  but  from  Siam,  Korea,  and  Ceylon.  I  must 
say  that  I  was  wonderfully  impressed  by  its  magni- 
tude, its  magnificence,  and  the  deep  religious  atmos- 
phere with  which  it  is  invested.  It  stands  on  a  hill 
or  terrace  166  feet  high,  900  feet  long,  and  685  feet 
wide.  This  terrace  is  ascended  by  several  flights  of 
granite  stairs  which  are  housed  in  and  along  which 
are  the  various  stalls  for  the  sale  of  gold-leaf  flowers, 
pictures,  and  the  elements  which  the  pious  ofifer.  The 
stairs  lead  to  a  broad  open  space  covered  with  flag- 
stones, which  runs  all  round  the  pagoda,  and  which  is 
left  free  for  worshipers.    The  pagoda  is  a  solid  stone 

164 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

pile  with  a  circumference  of  1,355  ^^^t  at  its  octag- 
onal base,  and  a  height  of  370  feet.  It  tapers  to  a 
circumference  of  about  fifty  feet  at  the  top,  which  is 
surmounted  by  the  usual  gilt  ironwork  "umbrella." 
This  "umbrella"  cost  $250,000,  and  was  presented  by 
a  king.  The  rare  jewels  which  stud  this  umbrella 
are  estimated  to  be  worth  more  than  $1,000,000.  The 
whole  pagoda  has  been  covered  with  gold  leaf.  What 
this  immense  structure  has  cost,  no  one  could  even 
roughly  estimate,  but  several  millions  of  dollars  would 
be  required  to  replace  it  if  it  were  destroyed.  It  was 
constructed  by  voluntary  labor,  and  the  subscriptions 
in  money  and  jewels  flowed  in  from  all  parts  of 
Burma. 

The  original  pagoda  was  erected  in  588  B.C.,  and 
was  only  twenty-seven  feet  high.  It  has  been  cased 
with  outer  coverings  until  it  has  reached  its  present 
size.  It  has  not  been  changed  in  size  and  shape  since 
1564.  On  the  outer  edge  of  the  platform  there  are 
many  small  pagodas,  while  about  the  great  pagoda  are 
high  stone  altars  and  single  low  stone  chapels  in  which 
are  figures  of  Buddha.  Some  of  these  figures  are 
beautiful  pieces  of  marble.  In  the  four  chapels  are 
colossal  figures  of  Buddha,  and  in  one  there  is  a  re- 
clining statue  that  is  worthy  of  notice.  The  worship- 
ers fall  upon  their  knees  in  the  open  space,  looking  to 
the  immense  towers,  or  on  their  face  before  some 
image  and  pour  out  their  souls  in  prayer.  Mendicant 
priests  strike  triangular  metal  gongs,  which  give  out 
sweet  tones  and  call  for  the  attention  of  those  inclined 
to  bestow  alms.  The  enormous  bell,  which  is  said  to 
weigh  forty-two  tons,  hangs  where  it  may  be  seen 
by  the  worshiper.     When  the  English  captured  Ran.- 

165 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

goon,  they  made  an  attempt  to  take  the  bell  to  Cal- 
cutta as  a  trophy;  but  by  some  mishap  they  lost  it  in 
the  Rangoon  River.  The  English  engineers  failed  in 
their  efforts  to  raise  it.  The  Burmans  begged  that 
the  sacred  bell  be  restored  to  them  if  they  could  re- 
cover it.  They  secured  it  after  mighty  efforts,  and 
bore  it  in  triumph  to  the  pagoda. 

The  visit  to  the  great  Shwe  Dagon  Pagoda  and  to 
the  Soolay  Pagoda  impressed  me  with  Buddhism  as 
has  nothing  else  which  I  have  seen  in  the  Orient. 
The  worship  is  indeed  pitiable.  These  darkened  mil- 
lions are  groping  after  the  truth,  and  they  are  seeking 
for  a  merciful  God  for  their  burdened  lives.  Such 
devout  people  need  and  have  a  right  to  the  pure,  sim- 
ple gospel  of  Jesus  Christ.  I  wanted  to  preach  to 
them  and  tell  them  the  sweet  story  of  the  wonderful 
love  of  God.  Surely  a  great  Church  in  a  rich  land, 
with  all  the  comforts,  conveniences,  and  even  luxuries 
of  the  religious  life,  will  not  shut  up  its  sympathies 
until  these  poor  people  have  seen  the  light  which  has 
come  into  the  world.  Thousands  of  dollars  should  be 
going  to  these  lands  where  now  only  tens  are  sent. 
It  is  a  matter  of  great  comfort  to  know  that  Chris- 
tianity is  making  excellent  progress  in  Burma.  There 
are  more  than  ten  thousand  Christians  in  Rangoon, 
and  more  than  150,000  in  the  province.  When  I  re- 
membered that  Adoniram  Judson  came  to  Rangoon  in 
July,  1813,  and  labored  in  Burma  for  almost  forty 
years,  I  felt  that  I  was  on  ground  consecrated  by 
the  most  sacrificial  of  lives.  At  the  time  of  his  death, 
in  1850,  while  making  his  journey  to  the  beloved 
America,  the  native  Christians  numbered  7,000,  while 
at  present  the  number  of  communicants  in  the  Baptist 

166 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

Churches  in  Burma  is  about  55,000,  I  visited  the 
Baptist  Press,  a  magnificent  establishment  with  fine 
equipment.  I  found  the  prices  charged  for  books, 
post  cards,  and  such  material  as  travelers  would  want 
above  those  charged  by  other  firms.  Too  frequently 
publishing  houses  fail  to  draw  custom  by  allowing  the 
prices  to  be  cut  by  other  firms  in  the  community.  A 
Church  ought  to  be  able  to  do  business  as  cheap  as, 
if  not  cheaper  than,  the  competitive  firms.  The  won- 
derful success  which  has  attended  the  missionary  work 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  Rangoon  and 
vicinity  should  be  exceedingly  gratifying  not  only  to 
the  workers  but  to  the  Church  at  home.  The  new 
brick  church  for  the  English  congregation  has  been 
completed  at  a  cost  of  about  $25,000.  The  buildings 
for  the  Burmese  Boys'  School  have  been  completed. 
The  Girls'  School  for  Eurasians  has  just  closed  its 
session.  The  attendance  reached  about  two  hundred 
pupils.  The  students  from  the  Girls'  School  recently 
took  the  first  honors  in  the  government  public  exami- 
nations for  teachers.  The  institution  has  a  high  stand- 
ing in  the  community.  The  evangelistic  work  for  the 
various  tribes  and  for  the  Chinese  is  showing  excellent 
results.  It  is  remarkable  how  large  amount  of  fine 
property  has  been  secured  by  the  mission  without  the 
assistance  of  its  General  Board  of  Missions.  Meth- 
odism in  Burma  is  in  its  infancy,  but  it  gives  promise 
of  healthy  growth. 

The  principal  commercial  industries  of  Burma  are 
those  connected  with  the  rice  and  timber  trade.  Gold 
and  silver  have  been  found  in  small  quantities  in  some 
parts  of  the  country,  fine  marble  is  worked  near  Man- 
dalay,  and  coal  is  mined  in  Upper  Burma.    Petroleum 

167 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

is  obtained  in  large  quantities  in  some  sections.  The 
Standard  Oil  Company  is  well  known  in  Burma.  In 
the  lower  part  of  the  country  agriculture  is  the  main 
employment  of  the  people.  Cotton  and  tobacco  are 
extensively  grown,  but  rice  covers  four-fifths  of  the 
total  area  in  cultivation.  The  soil  is  lavish  in  its  yield 
and  requires  but  little  labor.  The  chief  articles  ex- 
ported are  rice,  timber,  hides,  petroleum,  and  precious 
stones.  The  forests  have  made  the  timber  dealers 
rich  in  recent  years.  Through  the  influence  of  a  fel- 
low-traveler and  a  well-known  business  man  of  Cal- 
cutta, our  party  had  the  privilege  of  visiting  the  large 
Bombay  Lumber  Mills  in  Rangoon  and  seeing  the 
elephants  at  work.  They  were  drawing  heavy  logs, 
piling  heavy  timbers  with  their  trunks,  and  doing  much 
heavy  work.  A  timber  man  told  me  that  he  had  forty- 
seven  elephants  in  his  logging  parties.  He  gave  me  a 
photograph  of  five  elephants  drawing  a  log  that 
weighed  five  tons,  and  also  one  of  an  elephant  carry- 
ing a  heavy  log  on  his  tusks  held  in  place  by  his  trunk. 
The  rider  indicates  by  the  tap  of  his  heel  or  of  his 
stick  or  by  the  tone  of  his  voice  what  he  wants  done. 
The  elephant  is  very  useful  in  the  forests,  but  machin- 
ery is  displacing  him  in  the  mills. 

Rangoon  has  a  population  of  250,000  people,  and 
its  trade  is  surpassed  by  no  Indian  cities  except  Cal- 
cutta and  Bombay.  Its  annual  private  sea-borne  trade 
is  about  $90,000,000,  of  which  three-fifths  is  export. 
More  than  1,000  steamers  clear  its  port  every  year. 
It  has  an  electric  light  plant,  a  good  water  system, 
and  an  electric  street  railway.  The  street  cars  are 
patronized  only  by  the  natives,  as  the  foreigners  have 
some  fear  of  disease  germs.     The  business  houses  of 

168 


S-   w 


D-    r 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

the  firms  controlled  by  Europeans  are  large  and  well 
built.  The  shops  of  the  natives  are  small,  although 
they  are  on  the  first  floor  of  two-story  houses.  The 
bazaars  which  are  owned  and  leased  by  the  govern- 
ment are  busy  places,  and  they  bring  excellent  reve- 
nues to  the  city.  The  streets  are  of  good  width,  and 
are  as  well  kept  as  could  be  expected  where  there  is 
no  rain  for  seven  months  in  the  year,  and  where  the 
only  sprinkling  which  they  receive  must  be  done  by 
men  from  two  buckets  carried  on  their  shoulders  and 
which  sprinkle  through  long  bamboo  spouts.  The 
streets  were  necessarily  dusty  on  the  first  of  April, 
as  the  rains  do  not  begin  until  about  the  middle  of 
May.  The  streets,  the  grass,  and  the  flowers  showed 
the  need  of  water.  However,  the  public  park  inclos- 
ing the  lakes  is  a  place  of  great  beauty.  A  drive 
through  the  grounds,  as  well  as  through  some  of  the 
principal  streets  in  the  late  afternoon,  gave  us  an  op- 
portunity to  hear  the  military  band,  see  many  of  the 
most  beautiful  homes  and  clubs,  and  to  get  some  idea 
of  the  high  social  life  in  the  Burmese  capital. 

While  only  80,000  of  the  250,000  people  in  Rangoon 
are  Burmans — 90,000  are  Hindoos  and  50,000  Moham- 
medans— yet  they  are  not  without  interest.  Physically 
they  are  short  and  thick-set.  The  men  wear  long  hair 
and  little  or  no  beard.  They  are  flat  in  feature,  and 
show  some  resemblance  to  the  Chinese.  The  women 
are  more  or  less  attractive  in  looks,  and  are  not  se- 
cluded as  in  India,  They  go  to  market,  keep  shop, 
and  take  their  full  share  in  social  and  domestic  affairs. 
Both  sexes  are  well  clad  and  delight  in  gay  colors 
and  silk  attire.  Caste  has  no  place  among  the  Bur- 
mans.     The  deadening  effect  of  the  climate  and  the 

169 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

richness  of  soil  and  exuberance  of  vegetation  may  ac- 
count for  their  indolence  and  love  of  ease.  The  future 
of  the  Burmese  cannot  now  be  anticipated,  but  schools 
and  Christian  Churches  will  bring  to  them  high  ideals 
and  prospects  of  a  stronger  life. 

170 


CHAPTER  XIII. 
The  First  Touch  of  India. 

THE  voyage  from  Rangoon  to  Calcutta  was  made 
in  an  elegant  turbine  wheel  steamer  with  a  ton- 
nage of  only  nine  hundred  tons.  While  it  was  by  far 
the  smallest  steamer  on  which  we  .sailed,  yet  it  was  the 
fastest.  It  had  no  trouble  in  making  sixteen  knots 
an  hour  against  a  strong  gale,  while  the  large  liners 
on  which  we  had  traveled  made  only  fourteen  and 
fifteen  knots.  Steamships  are  usually  run  at  their 
economical  speed — that  is,  at  that  speed  which  en- 
ables them  to  make  the  voyage  at  the  least  expense. 
If  a  steamer  is  rushed,  the  consumption  of  coal  will 
diminish  the  profits  of  the  traffic ;  while  if  they  go  too 
slow  the  extra  time  consumed  will  increase  the  ex- 
pense of  the  passengers  and  the  crew,  and  the  amount 
of  coal  will  be  increased  by  the  length  of  the  voyage. 
The  beautiful  little  Lunka  was  built  for  the  mail  serv- 
ice between  Rangoon  and  Calcutta,  and  her  econom- 
ical speed  is  sixteen  to  eighteen  knots  an  hour.  Her 
captain,  the  son  of  an  English  clergyman  who  lives  in 
Stratford-on-Avon,  was  the  most  cultured  and  genteel 
officer  that  we  have  encountered  on  our  entire  jour- 
ney. The  rectory,  the  parsonage,  and  the  manse  have 
given  to  the  world  a  very  large  percentage  of  the 
most  effective  and  most  genteel  members  of  society. 
Preachers'  sons  will  compare  most  favorably  with  the 
sons  of  the  men  of  any  other  profession. 

The  Lunka  danced  like  a  cork  when  it  came  in  con- 
171 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

tact  with  the  swells  from  the  western  coast,  and  the 
last  evening  the  passengers  were  more  inclined  to  their 
cabins  than  to  the  dinner  table.  The  promise  that  the 
early  morning  would  bring  peace  to  the  troubled  waters 
was  fulfilled  about  noon;  and  a  genial,  smiling  com- 
pany began  to  emerge  from  their  various  hiding  places, 
and  the  usual  question,  "Where  have  you  been?"  was 
passed  around.  From  the  sea  we  entered  Hugli  River, 
which  is  one  of  the  most  treacherous  streams  in  the 
world.  It  shifts  its  channel  almost  daily,  and  the 
special  pilots  make  every  voyage  w^ith  the  greatest 
precaution.  This  stream  has  engulfed  many  a  vessel. 
The  suction  power  of  its  quicksand  will  usually  draw 
under  any  steamer  before  relief  can  be  brought. 
Lightships,  lighthouses,  and  buoys  mark  the  channel 
the  entire  ninety  miles  from  the  sea  to  Calcutta.  Nu- 
merous and  well-built  forts  along  the  banks  speak  de- 
fiance to  any  intruding  foe.  The  Saturday's  sun  went 
down  in  glory;  and  our  good  steamer  came  to  anchor 
in  sight  of  the  capital  city  of  India,  and  we  were  com- 
pelled to  be  content  in  midstream  till  morning.  The 
officers  who  sit  at  the  receipt  of  custom  had  closed 
their  doors,  and  entrance  into  the  city  other  than 
through  them  was  not  possible.  At  sunrise  we  were 
steaming  to  the  wharf,  only  to  find  that  the  condition 
of  the  tide  would  not  allow  us  to  dock.  The  customs 
officers  soon  courteously  examined  our  luggage  with- 
out trying  to  prove  that  we  were  liars  and  thieves. 
(The  customhouses  and  custom  officials  who  have  the 
most  unsavory  reputation  in  all  the  world  have  float- 
ing over  them  the  Stars  and  Stripes.)  We  were  taken 
to  the  shore  on  a  steam  launch,  and  soon  our  carriage 
stood  at  the  door  of  the  Thoburn  Methodist  Episcopal 

172 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

Church.  Here  Bishop  J.  M.  Thoburn  labored  for 
many  years,  and  after  him  Bishop  F,  W.  Warne.  The 
membership  is  composed  of  Americans,  Europeans, 
and  Anglo-Indians  whose  sympathies  are  more  Eng- 
lish than  Indian.  No  service  for  the  natives  is  ever 
conducted  in  this  church.  Although  we  arrived  at 
nine  o'clock,  yet  the  Sunday  school  and  the  preaching 
services  had  been  concluded,  and  only  a  few  people 
lingered  in  the  vestibule  for  the  usual  prolonged  social 
greetings.  The  Sunday  school  is  held  at  seven  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  and  is  followed  by  the  preaching  serv- 
ice. The  people  return  to  their  homes  and  have  break- 
fast at  half  past  nine  or  ten  o'clock.  The  evening 
service  is  held  at  six  o'clock,  after  which  the  people 
return  home  for  their  dinner.  The  heat  in  the  midday 
compels  the  white  people  to  stay  within  thick-walled 
houses.  All  habits  of  life  must  be  accommodated  to 
the  climate.  When  people  arise  at  six  o'clock  or  ear- 
lier, they  have  their  light  breakfast  in  their  rooms  and 
before  they  dress.  This  breakfast  consists  for  the 
most  part  of  tea  and  toast.  The  duties  of  the  day  are 
entered  upon  at  once.  At  nine  thirty,  ten,  or  ten  thirty 
o'clock  breakfast  is  served.  Work  in  the  home  or  in 
the  office  then  begins.  Business  men  of  the  white  race 
do  not  open  their  offices  until  ten  o'clock.  At  two  or 
three  o'clock  another  meal  is  served  which  is  called 
"tiffin."  Business  houses  and  offices  close  at  five 
o'clock,  and  dinner  is  served  at  half  past  seven  or 
eight  o'clock  in  the  evening.  The  social  duties  are 
discharged  in  the  late  afternoon.  Tourists  must  do 
their  sight-seeing  before  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning 
and  after  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

Calcutta  is  a  great  city  of  one  million  people,  and  as 
173 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

the  capital  of  India  it  holds  a  prominent  place  in  the 
social  and  political  life  of  the  Orient.  The  Governor 
General,  or  Viceroy,  as  he  is  more  frequently  called, 
has  his  official  residence  here,  and  the  offices  of  the 
government  call  here  the  most  influential  men  that  are 
connected  with  the  life  of  the  empire.  The  great  pal- 
ace for  the  Viceroy,  the  Municipal  Hall,  the  High 
Court,  the  post  office,  the  secretariat,  the  mint,  and 
the  home  of  the  Lieutenant  Governor  impress  the 
tourist  with  the  imperial  cast  of  the  city.  In  these 
great  buildings  will  be  found  the  portraits  or  busts  of 
such  distinguished  persons  as  Queen  Victoria  and  the 
Prince  Consort,  Warren  Hastings,  the  Duke  of  Wel- 
lington, Dr.  Alexander  Duff,  Sir  Henry  Russell,  Lord 
Cornwallis  (who  served  as  Governor  General  of  India 
after  some  humiliating  military  experiences  in  Amer- 
ica), Bishop  Reginald  Heber,  and  other  notable  men. 
In  the  center  of  the  city  is  the  famous  Maidan,  or 
esplanade,  which  is  nearly  two  miles  long  and  one 
mile  broad.  The  residence  of  the  Viceroy  faces  it  on 
the  north,  while  Belvidere,  the  residence  of  the  Lieu- 
tenant Governor,  is  at  the  southern  end.  On  the  west 
side  is  Fort  William,  and  on  the  east  side  is  the  Im- 
perial Museum,  whose  Indian  treasures  are  exceed- 
ingly interesting  and  valuable.  The  Eden  Gardens 
form  a  part  of  the  esplanade.  They  are  very  beau- 
tiful, and  furnish  the  meeting  place  for  the  high  social 
set  for  their  evening  greetings.  In  the  season  from 
November  to  February  one  can  see  here  any  afternoon 
and  evening  the  exclusive  social  uppertendom  of  Cal- 
cutta. The  fine  equipages,  the  superb  display  of  mil- 
linery, and  the  intoxicating  music  make  a  scene  well 
■  worth  one's  attention.    But  the  heat  had  scattered  offi- 

174 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

cialdom  and  uppertendom,  and  we  saw  the  ordinary 
doings  of  those  who  imitate  those  who  do  well.  The 
gardens  did  not  deny  us  the  joy  of  their  beauty.  I 
was  not  admitted  to  the-  Viceroy's  mansion,  although 
he  was  away  in  the  mountains  at  Simla.  Of  course 
the  house  was  palatial,  with  its  elegant  breakfast  room, 
dining  room,  throne  room,  council  room,  and  ball- 
room; but  what  interest  could  those  places  have  for 
a  wandering  Methodist  editor  with  strong  democratic 
instincts  and  with  more  sympathy  for  the  poor,  igno- 
rant subjects  of  every  land  than  for  the  display  of  the 
world's  highest  aristocracy?  One  may  see  much  of 
palaces  in  Europe;  but  only  in  India  can  one  see  the 
subject  people  from  whom  have  come  great  philoso- 
phies and  influential  religions,  and  who  may  yet  be- 
come the  teachers  in  the  deep  things  of  human  life. 

St.  Paul's  Cathedral  is  a  stately  pile  of  Hindoo- 
Gothic  architecture  which  was  erected  more  than  sixty 
years  ago  at  a  cost  of  $250,000.  The  Bengal  Club 
now  occupies  the  house  in  which  Lord  Macaulay  lived 
when  he  was  a  resident  of  Calcutta.  Fort  William, 
which  was  completed  in  1773  at  a  cost  of  $10,000,000, 
does  not  occupy  its  former  site,  as  it  was  moved  by 
Lord  Clive  after  the  battle  of  Plassey  in  1757.  The 
old  site  is  now  occupied  by  the  great  post  office 
building.  It  was  in  this  fort  that  the  one  hundred  and 
forty-six  persons  were  thrown  into  the  one  room  22x14 
feet  on  June  20,  1756,  and  out  of  which  only  twenty- 
three  persons  were  taken  alive  the  next  morning.  The 
place  is  known  as  the  Black  Hole  of  Calcutta.  The 
Black  Hole  has  been  filled  and  covered  with  cement 
and  fenced  with  an  iron  railing,  and  is  now  in  the 
alley  between  two  buildings.     In  the  street  where  the 

175 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

dead  bodies  were  piled  in  a  ditch  by  the  order  of  the 
Indian  Governor  now  stands  a  beautiful  marble  obelisk 
which  was  erected  by  Lord  Curzon  to  take  the  place 
of  the  one  which  was  originally  erected  by  Mr.  J.  Z. 
Holwell,  the  principal  survivor  of  the  tragedy.  The 
unfortunate  death  of  the  victims  of  the  Black  Hole 
provoked  Lord  Clive  to  battle,  to  the  great  disaster 
of  the  Indian  Governor. 

Not  far  from  the  Black  Hole,  on  what  is  called 
Dalhousie  Square,  is  the  old  Mission  Church,  which 
was  built  by  the  celebrated  Swedish  missionary, 
Johann  Zacharias  Kiernander,  who  began  his  work  in 
Calcutta  in  1758.  I  visited  the  old  church  and  read 
its  many  tablets  to  the  memory  of  many  faithful  la- 
borers in  this  field.  I  sought  for  Duff  College,  the 
culmination  of  the  work  of  the  great  Scotch  mission- 
ary. The  institution  is  not  meeting  with  the  success 
which  is  due  its  honored  founder.  It  is  soon  to  be 
united  with  the  School  of  the  General  Assembly,  and 
the  two  will  occupy  a  new  building  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  city.  But  the  most  sacred  pilgrimage 
which  I  made  while  in  Calcutta  was  a  visit  to  Seram- 
pore,  the  scene  of  the  labors  of  William  Carey.  I  ar- 
rived at  eight  o'clock,  and  found  Dr.  George  Howells, 
the  Principal  of  Serampore  College,  in  his  office,  busi- 
ly engaged  with  some  plans  for  the  improvement  of 
the  institution  which  was  founded  by  Carey  and  his 
associates.  Dr.  Marshman  and  Dr.  Ward,  in  1818. 
I  was  in  the  building  in  which  Carey  lived,  and  saw 
the  room  in  which  he  died.  I  went  through  the  mag- 
nificent college  building  which  he  erected,  and  looked 
upon  the  instructors'  chairs  which  were  occupied  by 
these  great  men  in  their  work.    The  old  pulpit  is  pre- 

176 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

served  in  the  library,  as  are  the  short  crutches  which 
Dr.  Carey  was  forced  to  use  in  his  last  days.  The 
first  Bengali  Bible  published,  which  he  translated,  is 
on  the  shelves.  Not  far  away  is  the  little  Danish 
church  house  in  which  these  missionaries  preached, 
and  near  by  is  the  pagoda  which  Henry  Martyn  oc- 
cupied while  he  was  translating  the  Bible  into  Hindu- 
stani. On  my  way  to  the  train  I  stopped  at  the  little 
cemetery  and  uncovered  my  head  at  the  graves  of 
Dr.  Carey  and  his  three  wives,  Dr.  Marshman,  Dr. 
Ward,  Rev.  John  Mack,  and  the  child  of  Adoniram 
Judson.  On  Carey's  tomb,  according  to  his  instruc- 
tions, have  been  carved  the  words :  "A  wretched,  poor, 
and  helpless  worm,  on  Thy  kind  arms  I  fall."  India 
has  no  more  notable  tombs,  however  much  she  may 
have  built  of  marble  and  precious  stones,  than  these 
in  Serampore.  But  Serampore  is  as  pathetic  as  in- 
spiring. In  the  little  city  there  is  a  very  small  Chris- 
tian community,  while  the  college  has  only  a  hundred 
boys  of  grammar  and  high  school  grade,  with  a  dozen 
candidates  for  the  ministry.  There  is  a  charter  for 
a  college  department,  but  no  pupils  of  that  grade.  Dr. 
Howells  is  a  brilliant  man,  and  the  English  Baptists 
are  anxious  to  make  the  institution  worthy  of  its  great 
founder ;  but  success  does  not  come.  A  plan  has  been 
proposed  for  making  Serampore  College  a  great  in- 
terdenominational theological  school.  It  is  the  only 
missionary  institution  in  India  that  has  the  charter 
right  to  grant  degrees.  The  theological  schools  may 
be  as  good  as  those  in  England  or  America,  but  they 
cannot  confer  degrees  on  their  graduates.  Serampore 
College  has  that  right  under  its  old  Danish  charter; 
and  if  it  were  made  a  great  degree-conferring,  inter- 
12  177 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

denominational  theological  school,  it  might  have  a 
large  place  in  the  missionary  work  of  India.  The 
plan  is  being  favorably  considered  by  the  missionary 
bodies  of  the  empire.  Surely  something  should  be 
done  to  preserve  Serampore  with  the  sacred  treasures 
which  the  Church  universal  feels  have  been  deposited 
there. 

Of  all  the  interesting  places  in  Calcutta  it  would  be 
difficult  to  speak,  while  to  give  my  first  impressions  of 
the  people  might  not  in  the  end  be  just  to  them  or 
creditable  to  me.  It  is  very  easy  to  hand  down  dog- 
matic opinions  on  little  observation,  but  the  English 
writers  have  done  so  much  of  that  after  a  few  days' 
sojourn  in  America  that  an  American  may  well  re- 
serve his  verdict,  as  Rev.  Abe  IMulkey  says,  "until  the 
evidence  is  all  in."  But  one  can  pass  opinion  on  the 
fine  Bengal  tigers  that  are  in  the  zoological  gardens, 
and  on  the  leopards,  elephants,  lions,  hyenas,  monkeys, 
birds,  and  reptiles  which  were  captured  near  Calcutta. 
It  was  a  strange  sensation  that  came  over  me  when 
I  learned  that  I  was  really  in  the  home  of  these  fero- 
cious beasts.  It  came  to  me  that  I  was  far  away  from 
the  home  of  my  childhood,  and  then  the  mind  wan- 
dered over  the  seas.  After  that  I  went  to  the  Botan- 
ical Gardens  not  so  much  to  see  the  flowers  and  the 
almond  trees  and  the  royal  palms — although  they  were 
very  beautiful — ^but  to  examine  the  famous  banyan 
tree.  When  I  saw  it,  I  found  that  it  was  a  smal] 
forest  which  had  sprung  from  one  sprout.  It  is  one 
hundred  and  thirty-eight  years  old.  The  circumfer- 
ence of  its  trunk  five  feet  from  the  ground  is  fifty-one 
feet,  while  the  circumference  at  the  crown  is  nearly 
i,ooo  feet.    Its  height  is  eighty-five  feet.     It  has  four 

178 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

hundred  and  sixty-four  aerial  roots  actually  rooted  in 
the  ground.  A  root  will  spring  from  any  branch ; 
and  if  it  connects  with  the  ground,  it  will  go  in  and 
become  as  any  root.  So  the  one  tree  has-  become 
a  beautiful  grove,  and  the  long  branches  are  sup- 
ported by  roots  which  now  resemble  living  posts. 
This  is  perhaps  the  greatest  wonder  in  the  whole  tree 
family.  The  banyan  is  a  sacred  tree  among  the  Hin- 
doos. 

The  tourists  who  had  "done"  India  said  that  by  all 
means  we  should  see  Darjeeling,  a  city  and  suburbs  of 
160,000  people  in  the  Himalaya  Mountains,  about  four 
hundred  miles  north  of  Calcutta  and  very  near  the 
border  of  Tibet.  So  after  a  few  days  in  Calcutta  v/e 
made  ready  for  the  journey  to  the  far-famed  city.  It 
is  one  thing  to  float  gently  into  a  foreign  city  and  be 
landed  by  the  kindness  of  fellow-travelers  in  the 
homes  of  friends ;  but  when  it  comes  to  a  stranger 
making  his  first  railway  journey  in  India,  some  new 
experiences  may  be  expected.  The  train  was  sched- 
uled to  leave  Calcutta  at  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon, 
and  if  all  went  well  it  would  arrive  in  Darjeeling  at 
one  o'clock  the  next  day.  Tickets  were  secured  at 
the  city  office,  and  our  names  were  registered.  I  did 
not  know  why  the  names  were  taken,  but  I  found  out 
later  without  being  told.  Our  host  asked  us  if  we 
had  bedding.  I  had  to  confess  that  all  we  had  was 
in  America.  So  pillows,  rugs,  blankets,  towels,  and 
linens  were  brought  for  us  and  rolled  into  a  bun- 
dle. The  "gharry"  (the  carriage,  by  grace)  was  at 
the  door;  but  the  driver  did  not  move  from  his  seat 
to  aid  us  with  our  suit  cases,  the  bags,  and  the  bed- 
ding.    His  caste,  or  position  in  society,  would  not 

179 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

allow  him  to  perform  so  menial  a  service.  But  two 
coolies  were  at  hand,  and  the  luggage  (no  baggage  in 
this  country;  all  luggage)  was  piled  on  the  gharry, 
and  we  were  off  for  the  train  while  good  wishes  were 
waved  by  the  host  and  his  wife.  Station  coolies  by 
the  half  dozen  rushed  for  the  four  pieces  of  luggage. 
We  later  felt  a  little  embarrassed  at  our  small  amount 
of  baggage,  as  men,  women,  and  children,  whites, 
blacks,  and  tinted,  all  take  with  them  from  six  to  fif- 
teen pieces  of  luggage.  They  pile  it  all  in  the  car 
with  them,  trunks  and  all,  and  sit  on  the  space  that  is 
left.  The  coolies  knew  what  to  do,  and  we  followed 
them.  They  went  direct  to  the  coach  that  was  painted 
white  and  black  and  which  was  divided  into  compart- 
ments for  first-  and  second-class  passengers.  The 
white  color  in  India  is  very  attractive  to  those  who 
may  not  know  what  ingredients  may  be  mixed  up  in 
or  with  the  less  certain  colors.  The  filth  of  India 
would  be  very  valuable  ,if  some  ingenious  Yankee 
would  invent  some  method  of  using  it  as  a  fertilizer. 
But  travelers  cannot  be  too  squeamish,  or  else  the  trip 
will  be  cut  short.  The  coolies  put  us  in  our  train,  and 
shortly  we  were  moving  at  a  good  speed. 

The  afternoon  was  very  warm,  the  windows  were 
open,  the  hot  winds  burned  our  faces,  and  the  thick 
dust  wrought  havoc  with  eyes,  ears,  and  mouth.  But 
we  were  traveling  for  information  and  not  for  pleas- 
ure, and  so  why  complain?  The  compartment  was 
about  eight  feet  long,  and  had  seats  along  either  side 
and  one  running  parallel  through  the  center  of  the 
car.  A  wom.an  and  her  four  children  occupied  one 
seat,  a  gentleman  and  his  luggage  occupied  the  one 
on  the  other  side,  while  this  traveler  and  his  wife  took 

180 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

lessons  from  the  center.  If  confession  must  be  made, 
the  situation  was  not  pleasing,  and  the  prospect  of 
an  early  change  was  the  chief  encouragement  to  en- 
durance. Promptly  at  eight  o'clock  we  were  informed 
that  the  Ganges  River  had  been  reached,  and  that  we 
must  take  bed  and  baggage  and  board  the  waiting 
steamer.  The  information  came  not  in  spoken  words, 
but  with  the  clatter  of  coolies'  tongues  as  they  thrust 
their  turbaned  heads,  black  bodies,  and  bare  shanks 
into  our  presence  and  clamored  for  a  chance  to  carry 
the  luggage  to  the  steamer.  Two  men  were  chosen 
and  loaded,  and  we  rushed  through  the  sand  to  the 
steamer  Parisian.  A  few  pice  (one-half  cent  pieces) 
satisfied  the  coolies,  and  we  turned  to  the  table  laden 
with  the  usual  dinner  in  India.  I  say  laden,  although 
the  dinner  was  served  in  courses,  as  are  all  meals  in 
India.  Of  course  chota  hazari  is  brought  to  one's 
room  about  six  to  six-thirty  in  the  morning,  and  con- 
sists of  tea  and  toast  and  a  bit  of  fruit.  But  breakfast 
at  nine-thirty  or  ten  o'clock,  tiffin  at  two  or  three 
o'clock,  and  dinner  at  eight  or  eight-thirty  o'clock  are 
served  in  courses.  How  the  people  work  and  live  with 
meals  at  such  hours,  I  cannot  see.  They  say,  "This 
seems  to  be  the  best  hours  for  out  here ;"  but  the  truth 
is,  the  custom  is  not  indigenous,  but  it  was  imported 
with  the  government.  But  the  meal,  or  the  dinner, 
was  well  received  after  the  physical  exercise  which 
the  train  furnished.  The  fish  was  touched  lightly,  as 
its  past  associations  were  not  known.  The  mutton 
was  good.  Much  mutton  is  eaten  in  India  if  one  may 
judge  from  the  usual  bill  of  fare.  However,  I  must 
confess  that  I  saw  a  great  many  goats  and  very  few 
sheep  in  India.    The  chicken  was  far  from  the  "yellow 

181 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

leg"  of  which  the  poets  or  else  so  frequently  write 
and  speak.  But  the  Mohammedans  served  us  right 
well  for  two  rupees ;  and  we  arose  to  look  out  on  the 
waters  of  the  holy  Ganges,  which  we  were  crossing. 
No  sooner  was  the  landing  made  than  the  grand  rush 
of  the  coolies  put  life  into  the  listless  passengers,  and 
in  a  few  minutes  we  were  at  the  train  searching  for 
the  cars  in  which  we  would  spend  the  night.  Placards 
bore  our  names,  and  the  game  was  as  interesting  as 
finding  one's  place  at  a  dining.  There  was  much  dis- 
turbance and  loud  noises,  the  coolies  having  the  as- 
sistance of  the  women  and  some  men.  But  trains  in 
India  are  never  in  a  hurry  about  leaving  a  station,  as 
the  station  master  must  see  that  every  passenger  is  pro- 
vided with  the  accommodation  to  which  his  ticket  en- 
titles him  before  the  train  is  dispatched.  In  case  there 
is  not  room,  he  must  put  on  extra  coaches.  Some 
cars  are  divided  into  small  compartments  with  only 
one  long  seat  across  the  car  and  a  bunk  which  can  be 
let  down  like  a  berth  in  an  American  sleeping  car. 
These  compartments  are  for  two  persons,  and  are 
convenient  for  a  man  and  his  wife.  Usually  the  com- 
partments have  tlie  three  long  seats  and  two  bunks  to 
be  let  down,  and  they  will  give  sleeping  accommoda- 
tions for  five  persons.  The  Editor  and  his  wife  got 
into  adjoining  compartments,  and  had  no  trouble  in 
discovering  the  use  of  the  bedding  which  our  host 
had  provided  for  us,  for  the  car  was  bare.  The  agent 
at  Calcutta  had  reserved  lower  berths  for  us  by  wire, 
and  our  names  were  on  the  placards.  The  night  was 
pleasantly  spent,  and  the  morning  found  us  at  Siliguri. 
What  could  travelers  do  in  stuffy  Pullman  cars  in 
India?     By  the  present  system   each  passenger  can 

182 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

have  a  comfortable  bed  at  night,  if  he  brings  it,  with- 
out extra  cost;  and  the  fresh  air  which  he  breathes 
will  counteract  all  evil  influence  which  may  be  occa- 
sioned by  flying  sand  or  other  creatures. 

Siliguri,  fifty  miles  from  Darjeeling,  was  reached  at 
six  o'clock.  The  coolies  cared  for  the  luggage  while 
we  had  chota  hazari.  What  a  dwarf  railroad  is  that 
which  takes  the  passengers  from  Siliguri  to  Darjeel- 
ing, with  its  track  only  two  feet  wide  and  its  cars 
large  enough  for  only  eight  persons  and  high  enough 
only  for  those  who  sit!  The  luggage  could  not  be 
taken  into  the  car,  but  had  to  be  put  into  the  parcel 
van.  The  height  of  the  car  from  the  ground  would 
not  prevent  a  child  from  stepping  out  at  any  time. 
The  engineer  is  not  allowed  to  run  the  train  at  a 
greater  speed  than  seven  miles  an  hour.  There  were 
times  when  it  seemed  that  this  order  had  been  totally 
disregarded,  for  the  turning  of  short  curves  when  the 
passengers  were  looking  over  a  precipice  more  than  a 
thousand  feet  high  made  all  movement  seem  rapid. 
The  first  seven  miles  were  made  over  a  practically 
level  road,  but  through  a  great  jungle  in  which  hunt- 
ers find  the  elephant,  the  tiger,  the  leopard,  and  other 
ferocious  beasts.  On  the  return  trip  great  torches  on 
the  engine  gave  the  forest  a  spectral  lighting  which 
produced  "creepy"  feelings  with  the  Americans,  espe- 
cially as  a  fellow-passenger  insisted  that  the  lights 
were  to  scare  away  the  beasts.  He  also  told  of  a 
tiger  who  a  few  years  ago  got  on  the  track,  and  the 
train  was  compelled  to  stop  and  await  the  pleasure  of 
his  Bengal  highness.  However,  we  saw  nothing  ex- 
cept a  few  harmless  monkeys  doing  their  feats  in  their 
native  woods,  and  I  felt  no  disappointments,  as  I  had 

183 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

no  desire  to  see  tigers  or  worse.  A  strong  iron  frame 
adds  to  the  beauty  of  these  enemies  of  human  flesh. 

The  mountain  scenery  the  entire  fifty  miles  is  un- 
rivaled in  its  beauty  and  grandeur.  The  little  train 
climbed  continually  and  crossed  its  track  many  times 
in  the  ascent  of  a  mountain.  Some  complete  loops 
were  made  in  a  distance  of  a  few  hundred  feet.  In 
several  places  the  reversing  station  was  used.  The 
train  would  stop  in  its  climb,  open  a  switch,  back  up 
the  incline  a  few  hundred  feet,  stop,  open  a  switch, 
and  move  forward.  By  this  operation  the  train  would 
be  lifted  twenty  to  thirty  feet  above  its  first  position. 
Not  only  did  the  superb  mountain  scenery  entertain 
me,  but  I  was  greatly  interested  in  the  immense  tea 
gardens  that  cover  these  great  mountain  sides.  No 
finer  tea  is  to  be  found  in  the  world  than  that  of  Dar- 
jeeling  and  its  district.  Many  Europeans  have  be- 
come very  wealthy  through  the  tea  industry.  The  tea 
bush  is  a  shrub  not  more  than  two  feet  high,  with 
thick  branches  heavily  leaved,  and  has  a  circumference 
of  four  or  five  feet.  The  leaves  that  are  plucked  for 
the  market  are  only  the  two  that  have  just  budded 
and  are  only  a  few  days  or  a  week  old.  These  leaves 
are  taken  by  laborers,  and  in  the  course  of  ten  days 
other  new  leaves  will  have  taken  their  place  and  be 
ready  for  plucking.  The  leaves  are  dried  and  rolled 
and  passed  through  four  to  six  processes  before  they 
are  ready  for  the  market.  The  green  tea  that  is  so 
well  known  in  America  is  rolled  only  once.  The  people 
in  India  do  not  understand  why  any  one  should  use 
the  green  tea.  As  I  have  no  taste  for  the  concoction, 
I  could  furnish  no  explanation. 

Darjeeling,  at  a  height  of  more  than  7,000  feet,  is 
184 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

as  exhilarating  in  its  ozone  as  it  is  intoxicating  in  its 
sublimity.  We  forgot  the  intense  heat  of  Calcutta  on 
these  mountain  heights.  We  had  been  told  that  from 
Darjeeling  we  would  see  the  highest  mountain  peaks 
in  the  world.  Mt.  Everest,  towering  29,000  feet,  and 
graceful  Kinchinjunga,  with  its  28,156  feet,  are  the 
attractions  which  Darjeeling  offers  to  tourists.  Un- 
fortunately for  us,  a  dense  haze  hid  from  us  these  lofty 
summits,  and  we  were  forced  to  join  the  great  major- 
ity who  visit  the  mountain  city  for  the  superb  moun- 
tain view  and  who  come  away  without  a  glimpse  of 
the  snow-capped  peaks.  If  we  may  believe  those  who 
have  been  blessed  with  the  views  from  Darjeeling  and 
Tiger  Hill,  no  grander  or  more  thrilling  sight  is  per- 
mitted to  man  than  a  clear  view  of  Mt.  Everest  and 
Kinchinjunga.  But  fully  as  interesting  as  the  moun- 
tains are  the  mountaineers,  and  in  them  we  were  not 
disappointed.  Here  India  and  China  meet,  and  the 
Tibetans  and  the  Bhoutans  are  the  sturdy  mountain 
tribes  that  are  represented  in  the  hill  capital  of  the 
Lieutenant  Governor  of  Bengal.  The  habits  of  these 
rugged  folk  may  be  surmised  by  the  warlike  relics 
which  are  sold  in  the  curio  shops,  while  the  athletic 
bodies  of  the  street  laborers  showed  the  influence  of 
their  mountain  life.  They  have  more  characteristics 
of  the  Chinese  than  of  the  Indians.  Religiously  they 
are  for  the  most  part  Buddhists.  The  Christian  mis- 
sionary finds  them  as  accessible  as  any  other  people 
to  whom  he  may  speak.  But  mountaineers  in  Asia, 
as  in  America,  need  only  the  advantages  which  the 
school  and  the  Christian  Church  can  bring  to  make 
them  leading  citizens  in  their  respective  countries. 
Darjeeling  is  the  summer  resort  not  only  for  the 
185 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

Lieutenant  Governor  of  Bengal  and  his  attendant  offi- 
cials, but  for  the  high  social  set  that  seek  to  escape 
the  heat  of  Calcutta  and  neighboring  cities.  Wherever 
Englishmen  congregate  in  the  East  will  be  found  all 
the  accommodations  for  their  outdoor  sports.  Exer- 
cise in  the  open  air,  with  walking,  riding,  driving, 
hunting,  and  games  of  all  kinds,  keep  the  sons  of 
Edward  in  good  physical  condition  even  against  the 
evil  habits  which  their  thirsts  have  too  frequently  cre- 
ated. The  visit  to  Darjeeling  was  full  of  intense  in- 
terest because  of  the  unrivaled  scenery  which  the  haze 
could  not  hide,  the  novel  experiences  on  the  baby 
railway,  and  the  fine  lessons  in  traveling  in  the  British 
Empire,  and  because  of  the  glimpse  into  the  life  of  the 
people  of  the  Himalayas. 

186 


CHAPTER  XIV. 
Benares  and  Lucknow. 

BENARES  is  a  twelve  hours'  ride  by  the  fast  mail 
train  from  Calcutta,  and  most  of  the  journey  is 
made  at  night.  It  is  situated  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
sacred  Ganges  River,  in  the  most  fertile  section  of 
India.  The  broad  rice  and  indigo  fields  fill  the  great 
valley,  and  the  population  of  the  entire  section  is  very 
dense.  One-fifth  of  the  300,000,000  people  of  India 
live  on  one-twentieth  of  its  area,  two-thirds  live  on 
one-fourth  of  the  land,  while  three-fourths  of  the 
country  is  sparsely  settled.  The  people  are  very  large- 
ly agricultural,  and  it  is  estimated  that  ninety  per 
cent  of  them  live  in  the  villages.  They  are  compelled 
to  sustain  themselves  by  the  fruits  of  the  soil ;  and 
when  for  lack  of  rain  or  other  cause  the  harvests  are 
cut  short,  a  famine  must  result  and  thousands  and 
even  millions  of  them  die.  In  the  last  twenty-five 
years  about  20,000,000  people  have  died  in  the  famines. 
One  of  the  great  problems  before  the  English  govern- 
ment in  India  is  how  to  prevent  famines.  The  rains 
are  dependent  upon  the  monsoons,  which  are  the  winds 
that  come  from  the  southwest,  bringing  the  moisture 
of  the  sea.  The  moisture  is  precipitated  when  it  comes 
into  contact  with  the  dry,  cold  atmosphere  of  the 
mountains  of  the  north.  These  monsoons  break  in 
June  and  continue  for  six  or  eight  weeks,  after  which 
the  harvests  are  possible.  The  rains  in  the  late  fall 
or  early  winter  insure  the  grain  harvests  in  the  early 

187 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

spring-.  But  scarcely  a  year  passes  that  does  not  re- 
cord the  faikire  of  crops  in  some  sections  and  the  con- 
sequent famine  as  a  result.  The  tourist  who  sees  In- 
dia in  November  will  think  of  it  as  a  garden  spot, 
but  one  who  sees  it  in  the  last  half  of  April  can  un- 
derstand what  the  word  "famine"  means.  Such  a 
parched,  desolate  land  I  had  never  before  looked  upon. 
There  was  no  sign  of  grass  or  other  vegetation  except 
an  occasional  cluster  of  trees.  The  farmers  were  not 
trying  to  break  the  soil,  but  were  waiting  in  the  great 
dust  and  the  intense  heat  for  the  coming  of  the  mon- 
soons. How  much '  does  India  need  China's  great 
canal,  with  its  wonderful  network  of  waters!  The 
government  has  already  done  much  in  this  direction, 
as  it  has  built  7,000  miles  of  main-line  canals  and 
27,000  miles  of  distributing  canals,  which  furnish  wa- 
ter to  about  12,000,000  acres,  most  of  which  is  in  the 
United  Provinces  and  in  the  Punjab.  Besides  the  area 
irrigated  by  the  government  canals,  it  is  calculated 
that  about  18,000,000  acres  are  irrigated  by  means  of 
tanks,  wells,  and  lakes.  It  is  claimed  that  the  area 
irrigated  by  one  means  or  other  in  India  is  greater 
than  that  in  the  entire  rest  of  the  world.  Nevertheless, 
India  has  more  sufferers  from  famine  than  all  the  rest 
of  the  world,  and  the  only  hope  of  making  famine 
impossible  is  in  irrigation,  which  can  come  only  b)^ 
canals.  The  government  has  set  itself  about  the  task 
of  providing  a  great  canal  system,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped 
that  the  presence  of  England  in  India  will  be  justified 
in  all  the  ages  by  the  system  of  irrigation  which  she 
gave  the  country,  if  by  nothing  else.  By  irrigation 
and  the  use  of  fertilizers  after  the  manner  of  the  Chi- 
nese and  Japanese  India  may  remove  her  poverty  and 

188 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

provide  for  herself  the  comforts  and  accommodations 
of  a  worthy  national  life.  But  no  people  can  rise  high 
in  the  scale  of  intelligence  or  morality  until  they  can 
get  rid  of  the  dirt  and  filth  which  poverty  imposes. 

The  holiest,  dirtiest,  most  revolting  city  in  India  is 
Benares,  the  Mecca  of  Hinduism.  The  drought  had, 
of  course,  discounted  its  usual  appearance ;  but  it  hard- 
ly seemed  possible  that  anything  beautiful — vegetable, 
animal,  or  psychical — could  grow  in  that  place.  The 
business  streets  are  only  alleyways,  the  shops  are  dirty, 
cramped  booths,  and  the  places  we  will  call  homes — 
although  the  word  does  not  apply — are  disreputable 
in  appearance.  It  must  be  remembered,  however,  that 
Indians  do  not  need  large  business  houses  or  com- 
modious dwellings,  although  the  rich  may  have  both. 
The  shopkeeper  will  close  his  place  of  business  and 
lie  down  on  the  sidewalk  in  front  and  sleep,  without 
pillow  or  covering,  until  morning  or  until  he  is  unduly 
disturbed.  In  many  instances,  as  in  China,  he  may 
have  his  family  in  another  city,  to  which  he  will  go 
at  the  end  of  the  season ;  and  even  if  his  family  is  in 
the  same  city,  his  apartments  may  be  in  a  different 
house  from  that  of  his  family.  One  Hindu  gentleman 
invited  my  wife  to  go  with  him  to  see  his  wife  and 
family.  He  could  not  invite  me,  as  the  women  are 
not  allowed  to  see  or  be  seen  by  other  men  than  their 
husbands  or  brothers  or  fathers.  After  that  visit  he 
invited  us  both  to  visit  his  apartments,  which  were  in 
a  house  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street.  The  wife 
prepares  the  husband's  meal,  but  she  is  not  allowed 
to  eat  it  with  him.  The  men  and  boys  of  the  family 
eat,  and  after  them  the  women  and  girls.  When  the 
woman  walks  or  drives  in  the  street,  her  face  is  veiled ; 

189 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

and  in  driving  or  riding  in  the  chair  the  doors  of  the 
carriage  are  closed  and  the  curtains  are  drawn  and 
she  is  hid  from  the  world.  The  woman  is  a  prisoner 
in  her  own  home.  The  only  hope  of  doing  missionary 
work  among  the  women  is  in  women  missionaries  en- 
tering the  home  to  teach  fancywork  or  on  some  other 
pretense.  This  is  called  "zenana"  work,  and  through 
it  some  intelligent  women  have  achieved  good  results. 
Women  of  the  laboring  class  are  not  bound  by  these 
social  restrictions,  but  may  be  seen  at  any  time. 

Benares  is  a  city  of  temples  and  ghats,  and  to  it  the 
devout  make  sacred  pilgrimages,  as  do  the  Moham- 
medans to  Mecca.  The  Hindu  believes  firmly  that  the 
Ganges  has  divine  qualities,  and  that  its  waters  will 
cleanse  from  sin  and  insure  entrance  into  the  heavenly 
world.  So  he  bathes  in  this  stream,  drinks  its  water, 
hopes  to  die  on  its  bank  and  have  his  ashes  borne 
away  on  its  bosom.  The  ghats  (pronounced  "gots") 
are  steps  which  lead  from  the  top  of  the  bank  down 
into  the  river.  In  the  early  morning  in  Benares  the 
whole  riverside  for  two  miles  is  covered  with  people 
who  come  for  their  bathings.  They  enter  the  stream, 
dip  themselves  three  times,  pour  water  on  their  heads, 
lift  the  water  with  their  hands,  drink  a  small  amount, 
and  worship  the  stream  and  the  rising  sun.  Some  of 
them  are  very  devout  in  their  worship,  while  others 
are  as  some  worshipers  in  the  Christian  Churches  in 
the  United  States.  They  wash  their  garments  before 
leaving  the  stream,  and  skillfully  dress  themselves 
without  exposure.  The  women  have  a  section  reserved 
for  them,  but  nothing  separates  them  from  the  men, 
although  they  may  come  to  the  river  in  a  closed  car- 
riage.   As  the  worshipers  leave  the  river  they  usually 

190 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

stop  to  have  the  priest,  who  sits  under  a  large  bamboo 
umbrella,  put  the  marks  on  their  faces  and  foreheads 
which  will  indicate  the  caste  to  which  they  belong. 
Hinduism  is  the  teacher  and  supporter  of  caste.  The 
Mohammedans,  the  Parsees,  the  Buddhists,  and  the 
Sikhs  are  all  free  from  that  disgraceful  bondage.  But 
as  there  are  more  than  200,000,000  Hindus  in  India, 
the  caste  system  may  be  said  to  be  national. 

The  Hindu  wants  to  die  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
sacred  Ganges.  Should  he  die  on  the  right  bank,  his 
soul  would  be  lost  in  the  n^xt  world.  By  the  side  of 
the  bathing  ghats  are  the  burning  ghats,  where  the 
funeral  pyres  are  lighted.  The  sight  of  these  was  far 
from  pleasant.  The  bodies  of  the  dead  are  first  taken 
to  the  river,  the  feet  dipped  in  the  stream,  the  bottom 
of  the  feet  and  the  palms  stained  red  with  some  sacred 
juice,  spices  thrown  upon  them,  and  then  the  little  pile 
of  wood  into  which  the  body  is  placed  is  lighted. 
Every  Hindu  considers  it  a  calamity  if  he  has  not  a 
son  to  light  his  funeral  pyre.  The  attendants  have 
some  ceremony,  but  there  is  no  sign  of  grief  on  any 
face.  Hinduism  does  not  develop  keen  sensibilities. 
However,  the  act  of  cremation  on  the  banks  of  the 
sacred  stream  and  the  final  resting  place  on  the  bosom 
of  Mother  Ganges  give  the  bereaved  an  assurance 
which  casts  out  all  grief.  It  is  said  that  often  the  sick 
who  are  wealthy  are  hastened  in  their  departure  as 
they  await  the  summons  on  the  banks  of  the  river. 
But  the  whole  custom  and  faith  are  grewsome  and 
exhibit  the  darkness  of  heathenism.  The  government 
cannot  interfere  with  their  use  of  the  water  of  the 
Ganges  for  bathing  or  drinking,  however  great  the 
danger  of  disease,  as  any  interference  would  be  con- 

191 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

sidered  restrictions  upon  worship.  A  young  officer 
told  me  of  a  case  of  a  Hindu  who  was  attacked  with 
cholera  the  day  previous.  He  gave  him  the  usual 
stimulants,  which  brought  relief;  but  at  once  the  man 
walked  to  the  Ganges  and  drank  its  waters.  In  an 
hour  he  was  dead.  Through  ignorance  and  supersti- 
tion thousands  of  people  die  in  India  every  year  in 
the  use  of  what  they  call  holy  water. 

Much  of  the  same  worship  is  carried  on  at  Calcutta 
as  in  Benares,  as  the  Hugli  River  is  a  branch  of  the 
Ganges  after  it  enters  its  delta.  The  river  Jumna,  on 
which  Agra  is  situated,  is  also  considered  sacred. 
Some  sacred  wells  are  to  be  found  in  various  parts  of 
the  empire,  and  the  water  in  them  is  as  vile  as  one 
will  ever  see.  Stagnant  pools,  green  from  long  stand- 
ing, are  used  for  bathing.  A  public  health  department 
would  find  much  to  do  in  India,  but  ignorance  and 
superstition  must  first  be  driven  away  before  any 
measures  could  be  successfully  enforced.  However, 
all  the  worship  is  not  dangerous  to  public  health ;  but 
much  of  it  is  revolting  to  fine  sensibilities.  I  visited 
the  Kali  Ghat,  in  Calcutta,  and  so  avoided  the  one  in 
Benares.  I  saw  a  young  kid  offered  to  bloodthirsty 
Kali,  the  wife  of  Shiva.  The  pilgrims  buy  the  goats 
at  a  small  price,  and  the  priests  cut  off  the  head  and 
take  the  fresh  blood  and  put  it  upon  the  forehead  of 
the  person  making  the  offering.  The  pilgrim  is  al- 
lowed to  take  the  body  of  his  goat  and  eat  it.  Kali 
is  the  goddess  of  destruction,  and  she  can  be  appeased 
only  by  frequent  bloody  offerings.  Her  idol  is  suffi- 
ciently revolting  to  draw  from  any  devotee  any  sacri- 
fice. The  scene  about  the  temple  dedicated  to  her  is 
most  disgusting.     The  priests  are  so  importunate  as 

192 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

to  pass  from  the  state  of  beggars  to  that  of  highway 
robbers.  They  held  the  pilgrims  in  their  arms  until 
they  surrendered  the  last  pice.  The  whole  Hindu 
priesthood  is  a  debased  fraternity  for  extracting 
money.  The  priests  are  ignorant  and  even  vicious, 
and  are  real  social  vultures.  The  Durga  Temple,  in 
Benares,  which  is  dedicated  to  bloodthirsty  Kali,  was 
interesting  because  it  is  full  of  monkeys.  The  priests 
fed  them  in  our  presence,  and  then  asked  us  to  pay 
the  bill.  The  high  priest,  who  would  pass  for  a  gar- 
bage collector,  came  from  the  high  altar  of  Kali  to 
ask  for  backsheesh.  According  to  the  census  takers, 
there  are  four  million  beggars  in  India.  Judging  from 
the  specimens  which  we  saw,  we  are  inclined  to  think 
that  some  were  overlooked.  Those  who  do  not  beg 
are  always  on  the  receiving  hand. 

Our  guide  took  us  over  the  usual  river  route,  and 
pointed  out  all  th^  ghats,  temples,  and  famous  build- 
ings. Many  of  the  Maharajahs  have  palaces  on  the 
banks  of  the  Ganges  with  fine  bathing  ghats  reaching 
into  the  water.  The  Maharajah  of  Benares  lives  in  a 
palace  on  the  opposite  bank  of  the  river.  He  seems  to 
be  taking  some  risk  in  living  on  the  right  bank.  All 
the  Maharajahs  of  the  empire  have  palaces  in  Benares, 
which  they  occupy  during  the  great  religious  festivals. 
We  visited  the  one  owned  by  the  Maharajah  of  Vija- 
yanagrum,  but  found  nothing  distinctly  Indian  except 
the  manifest  desire  to  imitate  European  people.  We 
visited  the  cow  temple,  and  saw  the  beautiful  fat  ani- 
mals that  seem  to  be  enjoying  their  heavenly  state. 
In  Calcutta  I  saw  a  number  of  holy  cows  on  the  street. 
They  lay  on  the  sidewalks,  ate  from  the  grocery  stalls, 
and  lazily  wandered  through  the  streets  without  mo- 
13  193 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

lestation.  The  guide  showed  us  the  old  Juggernaut 
which  was  once  drawn  through  the  streets  of  Benares 
by  sacred  elephants,  and  in  which  rode  the  Maharajah 
and  the  priests.  Before  its  wheels  persons  would 
often  throw  themselves  and  be  crushed  to  death. 
Such  a  death  insured  entrance  into  the  world  of  bliss. 
I  saw  also  the  Golden  Temple,  with  its  gilded  spires ; 
the  Nepalese  Temple,  with  its  indecent  carvings,  the 
expression  of  degrading  Hinduism.  In  Calcutta  I  saw 
the  faithful  worshiping  Shiva  by  pouring  water  from 
the  holy  river  on  his  iron  head,  by  putting  choice  flow- 
ers on  his  iron  nose,  and  by  fanning  vvith  a  palm  leaf 
his  iron  face,  while  a  priest  muttered  prayers  and  re- 
ceived pice. 

Such  is  practical  Hinduism  as  it  works  itself  out  in 
the  public  worship  of  India's  millions  to-day.  Its 
superstitions  are  gross,  its  conceptions  debasing,  and 
its  practices  revolting  in  the  extreme.  It  not  only 
stultifies  the  mind  and  heart  of  the  people,  but  it  im- 
poses a  system  of  caste  which  is  degrading  to  the 
majority  and  extremely  burdensome  to  all.  Hindu- 
ism as  a  system  of  religion  is  a  mixture  of  cult  and 
philosophy.  Its  practical  working,  however  brilliant 
may  be  some  of  its  teachings,  can  never  be  regenera- 
tive, edifying,  or  sanctifying.  If  India  is  ever  to  rise 
to  a  just  state  of  commendable  living  and  thinking, 
she  must  have  a  revolution  in  her  religious  life.  The 
Christian  world  should  not  be  content  for  the  present 
state  to  continue,  but  should  increase  the  missionary 
forces  until  this  dark  heathen  land  shall  feel  the  throb 
of  a  genuine  Christian  life.  There  is  much  to  be  said 
of  Hindu  philosophy  and  Hindu  thought,  but  Hindu- 
ism as  practiced  is  the  rankest  heathenism.    The  force 

194 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

that  will  correct  this  vile  condition  must  come  from 
without  and  drive  Hinduism  to  acknowledge  its  fail- 
ure as  a  religion.  India  must  have  Christianity  to 
save  her  from  the  destruction  that  her  heathen  dark- 
ness will  inevitably  bring. 

Of  course  I  was  interested  in  seeing  in  Benares  the 
fine,  expansive  buildings  of  the  Central  Hindu  Col- 
lege, the  institution  over  which  Mrs.  Annie  Besant, 
the  theosophist,  presides.  About  two  to  three  hun- 
dred Hindu  young  men  are  students  in  the  school. 
But  theosophists  are  as  much  in  the  haze  as  the  Hindus 
are  in  the  darkness.  The  unoccupied  society  women 
who  are  spending  their  hours  in  theosophical  clubs 
and  are  indulging  in  their  idle  and  ignorant  prattle 
about  Hindu  philosophy  ought  to  send  a  delegation  to 
investigate  the  temples,  the  ghats,  the  priests,  and  the 
practices  of  Hinduism. 

It  was  a  great  relief  to  turn  aside  from  the  holy 
things  of  Benares  to  the  secular.  The  ornamental 
brasswork  which  is  met  with  all  over  the  world  is  a 
spccialite  of  Benares.  The  skill  with  which  these  fine 
pieces  of  brass  are  produced  is  truly  remarkable,  while 
the  carving  which  is  done  on  ivory  is  worthy  of  high 
admiration.  The  shawls,  the  silks,  and  the  choice 
embroidery  which  are  produced  in  the  dirty  hovels 
of  Benares  compel  the  most  disgusted  tourist  to  utter 
some  kind  words  about  the  people  of  the  holy  city. 
Much  of  the  spinning  is  done  in  the  streets,  the  warp 
is  prepared  in  the  alley,  while  the  looms  are  in  nar- 
row rooms  with  dirt  floors.  Yet  the  fabrics  that  are 
produced  receive  the  admiration  of  all  lovers  of  the 
beautiful.  Factories  in  India,  as  in  China  and  Japan, 
do  not  mean  great  buildings,  but  usually  small  rooms 

195 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

in  which  workmen  sit  on  the  floor  and  with  delicate 
instruments  produce  that  kind  of  article  that  their 
ancestors  for  generations  produced  before  them.  Hea- 
thenism does  not  mean  artistic  inefficiency. 

The  leave-taking  at  the  hotel  in  Benares  was  very 
affecting,  and  citizens  of  that  holy  place  showed  un- 
usual interest  in  our  departure.  We  saw  a  number  of 
people,  friends  indeed  because  friends  in  need,  whom 
we  did  not  know  existed.  We  had  no  sooner  paid 
our  bill  in  the  hotel  office  than  they  swooped  down 
on  us  like  vultures  who  scented  a  subject  from  afar. 
"I  am  the  table  boy,"  said  tlie  bushy-bearded  man  clad 
in  white,  with  high-built  turban.  The  modest  tip  was 
bestowed.  "I  am  the  room  boy,"  said  the  next  old 
gentleman  in  white  raiment  and  with  black  feet;  tip. 
"I  am  the  water  boy ;"  tip.  "I  am  the  sweeper ;"  tip. 
"I  am  the  punka  puller ;"  tip.  "I  am  the  bootblack ;" 
tip.  "I  am  the  man  who  drove  the  carriage  yester- 
day;" the  bill  had  been  paid,  but — tip.  "We  are  the 
coolies,"  said  the  three  men  who  had  put  our  six  pieces 
of  hand  luggage  on  the  gharry;  tip.  "I  am  the  bear- 
er" (he  had  brought  the  hotel  bill  to  me)  ;  tip.  All 
wanted  more  than  I  had  given,  and  expressed  their 
emotions  in  broken  English.  They  always  want  more 
and  say  so.  When  I  arrived  at  the  station,  three 
coolies  took  the  luggage  and  put  it  on  the  train,  for 
which  they  were  paid  by  the  railway  company;  but 
tips  they  must  have.  The  gharry  man,  after  I  paid 
his  regular  tariff,  asked  for  his  tip  and  received  it. 
Just  here  the  guide  said  modestly :  "And  now  my  pay." 
He  received  it,  and  the  car  door  closed,  not  to  be 
opened  any  more  to  expose  us  to  the  affecting  fare- 
well of  our  newly  found  friends.     But  such  is  India, 

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ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

a  country  of  beggars  and  tiptakers,  as  well  as  of 
scholars,  poets,  and  religionists.  The  white  man  has 
everything  done  for  him  that  another  person  can  do, 
and  the  native  expects  full  compensation  and  back- 
sheesh in  return.  Even  the  station  master  on  the  rail- 
roads has  favors  for  travelers  when  the  ring  of  rupees 
falls  on  his  ears.  The  native  may  receive  only  half  so 
much  from  a  native  for  a  piece  of  work  as  from  the 
white  man  and  with  that  be  satisfied ;  but  to  the  white 
man  he  turns  with  pleading  tone  and  calls  for  more, 
if  not  in  compensation,  at  least  as  backsheesh.  But  the 
poor  fellows  need  all  they  get. 

We  took  the  mail  train  at  Benares  at  eleven  o'clock 
in  the  morning  for  Lucknow,  the  city  so  intimately 
connected  with  the  events  of  the  Sepoy  rebellion.  The 
journey  was  the  most  uncomfortable  which  we  had 
in  India  because  of  the  intense  heat.  The  thermome- 
ter registered  io8  degrees,  and  the  hot  winds  almost 
blistered  the  face.  On  getting  into  the  coach  all  the 
windows  and  screens  were  closed  except  a  window 
on  either  side  of  the  car  in  which  there  were  straw 
mats,  which  are  called  tatties.  By  pressing  a  button 
water  ran  down  on  the  straw  tatties  and  saturated 
them.  On  the  outside  of  the  windows  were  screens 
which  caught  the  air,  which  was  driven  through  the 
tatties  by  the  force  of  the  running  train.  The  moist 
atmosphere  rendered  the  air  in  the  coach  somewhat 
comfortable.  We  took  lunch  in  the  dining  car,  which 
was  similarly  cooled,  while  the  punkas,  which  are 
fans  made  of  a  pole  from  which  hangs  heavy  cloth, 
and  which  are  pulled  by  a  man,  kept  the  atmosphere 
moving.  In  the  hotels  punkas  are  provided,  and  a 
man  sits  on  the  outside  of  the  room,  and  by  a  rope 

197 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

through  the  wall  he  keeps  the  fans  going  all  through 
the  night.  However,  frequently  heaviness  possesses 
the  eyes  of  the  punka  puller,  and  the  sleeper  arouses 
with  the  unpleasant  dreams  of  suffocation  or  other 
disasters.  The  experience  of  the  day's  travel  from 
Benares  to  Lucknow  was  sufficient  to  convince  the 
tourists  from  the  South  that  only  in  the  night  should 
people  travel  in  India  during  the  month  of  April. 
Frequently  passengers  of  European  blood  are  taken 
from  the  train  overcome  by  the  heat;  but  these,  as  a 
rule,  are  men  who  have  indulged  too  immoderately  in 
the  use  of  whisky  and  soda  water,  the  favorite  drink 
of  Englishmen  in  India.  They  claim  that  the  water 
is  bad,  and  consequently  they  drink  liquids  that  will 
destroy  germs.  This  traveler,  who  drinks  nothing  but 
water,  carried  with  him  an  earthen  water  bottle,  called 
a  serai,  filled  with  water  which  had  been  boiled  by 
missionaries,  and  which  these  peculiar  bottles  kept 
cool.  He  had  no  trouble  in  getting  missionaries  to 
fill  his  serai,  which  would  hold  a  gallon  of  water. 

On  arriving  in  Lucknow,  we  drove  at  once  to  the 
residence  of  Rev.  C.  L.  Bare,  the  President  of  Reid 
Christian  College  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
What  a  joy  to  find  ourselves  in  that  comfortable  home, 
kept  cool  by  its  very  thick  stone  walls  and  the  ever- 
moving  punkas,  and  to  have  the  sweet  fellowship  of 
this  faithful  missionary  and  his  devoted  wife!  After 
an  hour's  rest.  Dr.  Bare  announced  that  Founder's 
Day  was  being  celebrated  at  the  Isabella  Thoburn 
Girls'  College,  and  asked  if  I  cared  to  attend  the  ex- 
ercises. I  was  indeed  glad  of  the  opportunity  to  see 
something  of  this  excellent  institution,  with  its  band 
of  two  hundred  girls.    We  found  the  yard  filled  with 

198 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

as  happy  a  company  of  girls  and  visiting  schoolboys 
as  ever  assembled  on  a  campus.  The  faces  of  the  rol- 
licking throng  were  Indian,  but  the  language  and 
the  dress  were  English.  The  exercises  were  enter- 
taining, and  the  singing  of  Miss  Thoburn's  favorite 
song,  "The  Home  of  the  Soul,"  was  very  affecting. 
From  Benares  to  Lucknow,  from  heathen  to  Chris- 
tian light — what  a  transition !  One  woman  who  was 
educated  in  the  school  had  returned  to  these  inter- 
esting exercises  of  her  Alma  Mater.  She  spoke  ex- 
ultingly  of  the  new  church  which  the  native  Chris- 
tians were  building  in  her  town.  When  the  day  for 
laying  the  corner  stone  came,  the  government  official 
of  the  district  found  that  he  could  not  attend  to  that 
duty,  so  the  officiary  of  the  Church  invited  this  edu- 
cated Christian  woman  to  perform  that  service.  The 
graduates  of  the  school  are  in  great  demand  as  teach- 
ers in  the  schools  of  India,  while  the  educated  young 
Indians  seek  their  hands  in  marriage.  Miss  Thoburn, 
the  sister  of  Bishop  Thoburn,  performed  a  great  serv- 
ice for  her  Church  and  for  India  when  she  founded 
this  institution.  The  original  building  was  occupied 
previous  to  1857  by  the  Prime  Minister  of  the  king- 
dom of  Ouhd,  and  his  council  room  is  preserved  in 
the  present  commodious  building.  Miss  Nichols,  the 
Principal,  has  secured  the  house  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  street  and  now  occupied  by  the  deaconess  home 
to  be  used  for  the  "purdah"  girls — that  is,  girls  of 
the  higher  classes,  who  must  be  veiled  and  not  seen 
of  men.  She  will  put  a  tunnel  under  the  street  to 
secure  a  closed  passageway  for  the  girls.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  that  while  they  come  in  through  closed  sub- 
terranean channels  they  will  linger  to  see  that  light 

199 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

which  will  enable  them  to  walk  out  at  the  front  door 
into  the  open  ways  of  God's  great  world.  Only  Chris- 
tianity can  remove  purdahs  from  the  faces  and  minds 
of  the  women  of  India. 

Reid  Christian  College  (named  for  the  Rev.  John 
M.  Reid,  D.D.,  deceased,  once  the  Secretary  of  Mis- 
sions for  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  who  gave 
the  money  for  the  main  building)  had  its  beginning 
in  1866,  but  was  not  established  as  a  college  until 
1888,  when  the  Rev.  B.  H.  Badley,  D.D.,  was  Prin- 
cipal, Its  superb  site  on  "Residency  Hill,"  which  was 
consecrated  in  1857  by  the  blood  of  those  who  fell 
in  the  mutiny,  was  obtained  as  a  gift  from  the  gov- 
ernment. The  grounds  include  about  thirty  acres, 
and  are  exempt  from  all  taxation.  The  location  is 
high,  and  commands  a  wide  view  of  the  entire  city 
and  of  the  historic  "Residency,"  which  is  only  a  few 
hundred  feet  away.  The  annual  enrollment  reaches 
550  to  600  young  men.  The  graduates  of  the  college 
are  able  to  pass  the  examinations  of  Allahabad  Uni- 
versity, with  which  the  college  is  affiliated,  and  re- 
ceive their  academic  degrees.  The  Commercial  De- 
partment has  the  indorsement  and  support  of  the  pro- 
vincial government.  In  fact,  the  government  has 
been  very  free  in  its  contributions  to  the  support  of 
the  institution.  At  present  one  of  the  professors  of 
the  school,  a  son  of  the  founder,  is  making  a  system 
of  shorthand  for  the  Oudhi  language,  the  dialect  of 
the  province,  at  the  request  of  the  government.  Very 
few  schools  in  India  are  meeting  with  larger  success 
than  Reid  Christian  College. 

Lucknow  is  the  center  of  Methodism  in  the  north- 
ern and  central  provinces  of  India.     Bishop  F.  W. 

200 


ETCHINGS     OF-THE     EAST 

Warne  has  his  official  residence  here.  The  Publish- 
ing House  is  one  of  the  largest  and  most  successful 
in  the  East.  Last  year  the  concern  made  a  contribu- 
tion of  $8,000  in  missionary  literature  to  the  missions 
in  its  territory  and  cleared  $1,300  besides.  Meth- 
odism is  meeting  with  unprecedented  success  among 
the  people  of  this  section.  For  the  most  part  they  are 
of  the  lower  castes,  but  it  is  found  that  Christianity 
elevates  the  people  of  India  until  sometimes  an  edu- 
cated man  from  the  lower  caste  is  called  on  to  teach 
the  children  of  the  higher  castes.  Nothing  is  affect- 
ing Hinduism  more  than  to  see  that  Christianity  lifts 
its  adherents  into  better  stations  in  life.  -  Sons  of 
sweepers,  who  by  the  caste  system  would  always  be 
sweepers,  have  been  known  to  rise  to  positions  of 
clerks,  with  the  usual  increase  in  salary.  Jesus  Christ 
is  no  respecter  of  persons,  and  missionaries  may  well 
follow  his  example  in  their  labors. 

Lucknow  is  fifth  in  size  among  the  cities  of  India, 
and  has  a  population  of  about  275,000,  of  whom  three- 
fifths  are  Hindus.  Religion  is  the  basis  of  division 
among  Indians.  Hindus,  Mohammedans,  Parsees, 
Jews,  and  Christians  are  religious  designations,  al- 
though in  the  case  of  the  Jews  and  Parsees  they  may 
refer  to  racial  extractions.  The  natives  of  India  are 
Indians.  Lucknow,  by  reason  of  its  parks  and  gar- 
dens, excellent  streets,  and  fine  houses,  is  one  of  the 
most  attractive  cities  in  the  empire.  The  shops  are 
exceedingly  interesting,  and  especially  to  those  who 
admire  the  Indian  silverware.  The  various  articles 
are  sold  at  reasonable  figures  if  the  amount  of  silver 
which  they  contain  is  taken  into  account  and  also  the 
time  consumed  by  a  skilled  workman  in  making  the 

201 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

highly  ornamental  article.  In  other  cities  of  India, 
and  especially  in  Agra,  Delhi,  Jeypore,  and  Madras, 
there  are  many  factories  which  turn  out  this  beautiful 
ornamental  silverware. 

To  all  who  are  acquainted  with  the  history  of  India, 
and  especially  to  all  English  people,  Lucknow  has 
the  keenest  attraction  because  of  its  position  in  the 
mutiny  of  1857.  The  old  "Residency"  is  as  sacred 
to  the  historian  as  Thermopylae  or  Waterloo  or  Vicks- 
burg  or  Port  Arthur.  In  the  world-renowned  "Resi- 
dency" a  force  of  nearly  3,000  English  and  natives, 
including  547  women  and  children,  were  confined  for 
eighty-six  days  amid  the  terrible  heat  of  July,  August, 
and  September;  and  they  endured  the  most  deadly 
sieges  ever  recorded  in  the  annals  of  war.  The  fire 
upon  them  was  almost  constant,  and  the  entire  hill 
became  bloody  with  the  victims  of  the  besiegers  and 
the  besieged.  When  relief  reached  the  garrison,  on 
September  25,  1857,  more  than  2,000,  or  two-thirds 
of  the  original  force,  had  perished.  The  gallant  Sir 
Henry  Lawrence  fell  in  the  early  days  of  the  siege. 
On  the  slab  that  marks  the  resting  place  of  the  great 
Christian  soldier,  a  devout  member  of  the  Baptist 
Church,  are  the  words :  "Here  lies  Henry  Lawrence, 
who  tried  to  do  his  duty."  Who  would  not  uncover 
his  head  in  the  presence  of  such  hallowed  dust?  With 
great  interest  I  visited  the  various  points  of  attacks, 
the  positions  of  intrenchment,  the  line  of  approach  of 
the  besiegers  and  the  relief.  The  old  Residency, 
which  was  the  home  of  the  English  official,  was  ex- 
amined from  cellar  to  garret.  Baillie  Guard,  Dr.  Fay- 
rer's  house,  in  which  Sir  Henry  Lawrence  died,  the 
old  cemetery  where  the  church  stood,  and  where  mon- 

202 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

uments  have  been  erected  to  the  memory  of  those 
who  fell  in  the  terrific  siege,  were  visited  with  a  sense 
of  reverence.  Every  foot  of  the  ground  seemed 
sacred,  and  the  recital  of  the  events  of  the  siege  made 
vivid  the  awful  events  of  the  memorable  Sepoy  re- 
bellion. The  entire  territory  from  Lucknow  to  Cawn- 
pore  and  from  Cawnpore  to  Agra  and  Delhi  furnished 
the  great  battlefields  for  the  bloody  struggle,  and  to- 
day supplies  the  historians  with  incident  for  the  record 
of  the  great  mutiny.  England  will  take  no  chances 
again  with  her  native  troops,  but  will  hold  them  where 
they  will  do  service  for  the  empire  and  no  injury  to 
the  governments. 

Lucknow  was  the  brilliant  capital  of  the  kingdom 
of  Oudh  until  1856,  when  the  kingdom  was  annexed 
by  the  British  government,  and  the  reputation  of  its 
splendor  filled  the  whole  of  India.  The  Mohammedan 
rulers  built  palaces,  mosques,  and  tombs  that  still  add 
grace,  beauty,  and  magnificence  to  the  famous  city; 
and  the  tourist  of  to-day  will  be  richly  entertained 
by  visits  to  these  superb  pieces  of  architecture.  The 
great  mosque  is  very  commanding  in  its  proportions 
and  its  general  aspect.  The  outer  gate,  which  leads 
into  the  grounds,  is  as  fine  a  piece  of  ornamental  work 
as  one  will  find  in  such  structures  in  all  India.  The 
approach  to  the  mosque  is  by  a  flight  of  expansive 
steps.  The  broad,  open  court,  the  tall  minarets,  the 
marble-covered  worshiping  places  combine  to  impress 
even  the  casual  observer  with  the  dignity  and  rever- 
ence of  the  place.  Just  beyond  the  mosque  are  the 
beautiful  Victoria  Gardens.  The  superb  statue  of  the 
late  Queen  and  the  Empress  of  India,  built  on  the  old 
palace  grounds,  has  recently  been  unveiled.     It  hon- 

203 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

ors  the  citizens  of  Lucknow,  as  well  as  the  memory 
of  the  great  woman.  The  tombs  of  some  of  the  rulers 
are  also  in  the  grounds  of  the  palace,  and  they  ex- 
hibit much  barbaric  splendor.  The  Kaiser  Bagh  is 
the  great  palace  which  contained  the  immense  harem 
of  the  king.  In  its  extensive  court  are  also  the  build- 
ings in  which  the  king  held  his  councils  and  from 
which  he  ruled  his  country.  But  these  are  the  relics 
of  a  day  which  has  gone,  never  to  return.  The  future 
may  bring  its  changes  for  the  present  state  of  things, 
but  the  old  regime  can  never  be  restored.  India's 
new  day  may  not  have  completely  dawned,  but  the 
midnight  of  the  old  is  fully  passed.  Such  an  insti- 
tution as  Channing  College,  with  its  magnificent  build- 
ings and  liberal  equipment,  located  on  the  choicest 
grounds  in  Lucknow,  is  the  symbol  of  the  new  time. 
The  new  learning  will  liberate  the  people  from  the 
ideas  that  made  the  old  kingdom  of  Oudh  possible. 
A  new  light,  even  the  Light  from  the  star  that  the 
wise  men  of  the  East  saw,  will  yet  permeate  the  mind 
of  India,  and  this  dark  people  shall  come  into  the  con- 
sciousness of  their  own  powers  and  possibilities. 

204 


CHAPTER  XV. 
The  Capitals  of  the  Moguls. 

AGRA  holds  a  strong  place  in  the  esteem  of  the 
world,  not  so  much  because  it  is  one  of  the 
largest  cities  of  India,  having  a  population  of  200,000, 
nor  because  it  was  once  the  capital  of  the  nation  and 
the  abode  of  kings,  but  because  of  some  extraordinary 
pieces  of  architecture  which  it  possesses.  The  world 
cares  very  little  about  Shah  Jehan  or  his  famous 
grandfather,  Akbar  the  Great;  but  it  does  bow  itself 
in  admiration  before  the  great  works  of  art  which 
these  men  had  produced  for  the  adornment  of  their 
halls  of  government,  places  of  residence  and  houses 
of  worship,  and  the  tombs  in  which  their  ashes  rest. 
The  things  that  live  in  this  world  and  which  humanity 
will  always  treasure  are  those  which  exhibit  thought 
and  feeling  and  manifest  high  psychic  qualities.  Art 
is  not  an  imitation  of  nature,  but  the  expression  of  the 
soul  of  man.  A  beautiful  landscape  is  not  a  cluster 
of  trees  and  an  expanse  of  fields  and  sky,  but  a  cluster 
of  ideas  and  a  far  .vision  into  the  deeper  meaning  of 
God's  world.  Architecture  is  not  a  massive  pile  of 
sandstone  and  marble  with  towers  and  domes,  but  the 
expression  of  symmetry,  unity,  thought,  and  the  feel- 
ings and  will  of  a  great  soul.  Agra  has  a  message 
in  stone  for  every  spirit  that  is  capable  of  receiving 
it,  and  it  is  because  of  this  message  that  tourists  will 
endure  the  hardships  of  severe  travel  to  spend  a  few 

20.*» 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

days  in  the  Fort,  at  the  Taj  Mahal,  about  the  tomb 
of  Akbar  and  the  majestic  ruins  of  a  once  proud  city. 

We  lost  no  time  in  reaching  the  Fort  on  the  morn- 
ing of  our  arrival,  although  the  night's  travel  had  not 
been  pleasant.  Changing  trains  in  the  wee  hours  of 
the  day  is  not  an  agreeable  exercise  even  in  America, 
and  much  less  in  India.  But  clwta  hasari  gave  us  a 
brace,  and  the  hope  of  a  sleep  in  midday  an  inspira- 
tion. So  before  seven  o'clock  we  entered  the  world- 
renowned  Fort,  which  was  built  by  Akbar  the  Great 
more  than  three  and  a  half  centuries  ago.  The  walls 
and  flanking  defenses  of  red  sandstone,  with  a  height 
of  about  seventy  feet,  make  an  imposing  appearance, 
while  the  entrance  through  the  superb  Delhi  Gate 
gives  the  traveler  the  sensation  of  passing  back  to  the 
feudal  days  of  great  castles  and  barbaric  fortifications. 
While  the  walls  of  the  Fort  would  not  resist  long  the 
present  powerful  missiles  of  war,  yet  the  ugly-mouthed 
cannons  which  to-day  speak  defiance  to  an  approach- 
ing foe  would  be  able  to  hold  in  check  for  some  time 
an  invading  force.  The  Red  Jackets  were  greatly  in 
evidence,  as  are  the  British  military  forces  everywhere 
in  India.  Our  first  stop  was  at  the  Pearl  Mosque, 
which  was  built  by  Shah  Jehan  in  1648  to  1655  at  a 
cost  of  $100,000;  but  it  could  not  be  produced  to-day 
in  America  for  five  times  that  amount.  We  ascended 
the  lofty  double  staircase  and  entered  through  the  fine 
gateway  of  sandstone  into  the  surpassingly  beautiful 
courtyard,  which  measures  234  feet  in  length  and  183 
feet  in  width.  The  marble  tank  in  the  center,  thirty- 
seven  feet  square,  is  for  the  worshiper's  ablutions. 
The  mosque  proper  is  149  feet  broad,  has  a  depth  of 
fifty-six  feet,  and  is  lined,  with  marble  throughout.    A 

206 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

marble  cloister  runs  around  the  sides  of  the  court, 
over  which  are  the  most  exquisitely  carved  archways. 
In  the  mosque  are  570  marble  slabs  which  furnish  as 
many  places  for  as  many  men  worshipers ;  while  on 
the  sides  are  slabs  for  the  women,  who  can  look  into 
the  mosque  only  through  a  beautifully  carved  marble 
screen.  There  are  no  images,  no  decorations,  no 
seats — nothing  except  a  marble  stairway  and  plat- 
form, three  feet  high,  upon  which  the  priest  occasion- 
ally stands  to  read  parts  of  the  Koran.  The  whole 
worship  lasts  only  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  and  consists 
of  prayers  muttered  with  the  face  of  the  worshiper 
turned  toward  Mecca.  The  same  prayers  are  usually 
said  at  five  stated  times  in  the  day  wherever  the  wor- 
shiper may  be  at  the  hour  for  worship,  but  they  have 
much  more  virtue  if  they  are  said  on  Friday  in  the 
mosque.  While  I  saw  many  of  the  faithful  bowing 
in  the  temple,  I  saw  also  the  soldier  at  his  sentinel 
post  at  the  close  of  day  get  on  his  knees  and  put  his 
forehead  in  the  dust.  The  Mohammedan  never  neg- 
lects his  duty  to  pray.  In  that  he  might  be  a  worthy 
example  to  many  followers  of  the  Christ. 

The  beauty  of  the  Pearl  Mosque  sharpened  the  de- 
sire to  see  the  palace  of  the  great  Shah  Jehan,  which 
stands  only  a  few  feet  away.  The  palace  of  red  sand- 
stone, with  its  numerous  apartments,  graceful  arches, 
and  majestic  colonnades,  in  which  the  great  Akbar 
lived,  would  be  imposing  were  it  not  eclipsed  by  the 
adjoining  marble  palaces  of  his  grandson.  Words  are 
inadequate  to  a  proper  description  of  these  specimens 
of  architectural  splendor.  Marble  ceilings,  marble 
floors,  marble  walls,  marble  doors,  marble  thrones, 
marble  bath,  all  enriched  with  the  most  delicate  and 

207 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

elaborate  carvings  of  flowers  and  figures,  give  a  mag- 
nificence that  surpasses  the  work  of  one's  imagination. 
The  frescoes  and  mosaics  add  a  beauty  and  a  rich- 
ness that  are  fairly  intoxicating.  The  splendid  draw- 
ing-room, the  superb  galleries  supported  by  great  col- 
umns of  purest  marble,  the  open  court,  the  Audience 
Hall,  all  adorned  in  regal  splendor,  make  a  scene  so 
glorious  that  man  passes  with  regret  and  returns  in 
memory  with  delight.  But  before  we  left  the  great 
palace  and  all  its  splendid  treasures  the  guide  took  us 
to  the  small  marble  room  adjoining  the  Queen's  apart- 
ments, in  which  the  proud  Emperor  Shah  Jehan  spent 
the  last  seven  years  of  his  life  as  a  prisoner  while  his 
ambitious  son  ruled  the  nation — a  sad  but  natural  se- 
quel to  his  own  selfish  and  autocratic  life.  He  suf- 
fered that  which  he  had  inflicted  on  his  own  father 
and  from  a  son  who  had  been  trained  in  the  tactics 
of  his  own  school.  We  stood  in  the  little  octagonal 
tower  in  which  he  was  taken  to  die  at  his  own  request, 
from  which  he  could  look  out  on  the  great  Taj  Mahal, 
the  superb  monument  which  he  had  erected  to  the 
memory  of  his  much-loved  Mohammedan  wife.  No 
ruler  has  left  in  India  so  many  enduring  works  pos- 
sessing genuine  architectural  worth  as  Shah  Jehan, 
who  reigned  from  1627  to  1658. 

Quite  satisfied  with  the  morning's  sight-seeing,  we 
returned  to  the  hotel  for  breakfast.  We  had  scarcely 
finished  our  meal  when  Rev.  G.  W.  Guthrie,  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  called  and  gave  us  a 
very  cordial  invitation  to  go  to  his  home.  The  invi- 
tation was  gladly  accepted,  for  hotel  fare  in  India  is 
poor  at  best ;  the  cooking  peculiar  to  the  country  is 
not  appetizing  to  an  American.    The  fact  is-,  the  food 

208 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

at  the  hotel  consists  chiefly  of  fish,  of  which  one  may 
well  be  careful ;  mutton,  which  has  its  shortcomings ; 
fowl,  which  is  never  fat;  and  potatoes,  upon  which 
one  can  always  rely.  The  bread  is  probably  home- 
baked;  however,  it  had  no  internal  or  external  evi- 
dence that  it  was  not  imported.  As  to  beefsteaks, 
good  butter,  biscuits,  corn  bread,  and  such  substan- 
tial, they  are  totally  unknown  in  the  Orient.  In  the 
missionary's  home  we  found  comfort,  convenience, 
companionship,  and  complete  satisfaction  for  the 
physical  man.  Not  only  did  we  have  excellent  help 
in  finding  the  interesting  features  of  Agra,  but  also 
an  opportunity  to  look  into  the  work  of  missions  as 
it  is  done  all  over  India. 

As  soon  as  the  rays  of  the  vertical  sun  would  allow, 
we  went  in  the  afternoon  to  the  exquisitely  beautiful 
tomb  of  Ftimad-ud-daulah,  the  Persian  high  treasurer 
of  Emperor  Jahangir  and  the  grandfather  of  Shah 
Jehan's  wife,  the  lady  of  the  Taj.  The  tomb  is  in  a 
beautiful  garden,  and  stands  on  a  platform  six  feet 
high  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  square,  and  is 
itself  sixty-nine  feet  square.  At  each  comer  is  an 
octagonal  tower,  and  on  the  terrace  of  the  roof  is  a 
pavilion  twenty-five  feet  square.  The  center  room, 
measuring  twenty-two  feet  square,  contains  the  tombs 
of  the  great  man  and  his  wife,  made  of  yellow-colored 
marble.  The  marble  latticework  of  the  passages  ad- 
mitting light  to  the  interior  is  very  fine.  The  whole 
of  the  exterior  and  much  of  the  interior  is  of  white 
marble  with  beautiful  inlay  work.  The  inlay  work  is 
the  earliest  known  in  India.  Agra  is  famous  to-day  for 
the  very  fine  inlay  work  which  is  done  there.  The 
tomb  is  reallv  a  gem  of  rare  architectural  symmetry 
14  '  209 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

and  beauty.  From  it  we  went  direct  to  the  Taj  Mahal 
to  look  upon  its  wonderful  architecture  and  catch  its 
beauty  with  every  ray  of  the  sinking  sun.  Those  who 
have  seen  it  oftenest  say  that  the  best  time  for  a  first 
visit  is  late  in  the  afternoon. 

Mumtaz-i-Mahal  was  married  to  Shah  Jehan  in 
1615,  and  died  in  1629,  and  was  buried,  till  the  mau- 
soleum was  built,  in  the  garden  where  the  Taj  stands. 
She  was  the  mother  of  seven  children.  She  was  the 
Emperor's  favorite  wife.  He  had  also  a  Hindu  wife 
and  a  Christian  wife.  This  was  his  Mohammedan 
wife.  Sentiment  has  it  that  the  tomb  was  the  ex- 
pression of  the  Emperor's  deep  affection  for  his  wife, 
but  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  thought  of  his  own 
glory  and  honor  had  something  to  do  with  it.  Such  an 
affection  would  be  truly  wonderful  where  woman  holds 
so  subordinate  a  place.  Even  to-day  the  show  of  affec- 
tion is  by  no  means  a  characteristic  of  the  people  of 
India.  They  dispose  of  their  dead  with  little  show  of 
emotion,  while  the  great  famines  or  scourges  of  dis- 
ease are  looked  upon  as  a  divine  means  for  making  a 
better  chance  for  those  that  live.  Plague,  cholera, 
and  starvation  bring  no  terror  except  to  those  within 
their  clutches.  Marriage  is  a  matter  of  contract,  and 
a  wife  is  but  a  creature  through  whom  man  may  per- 
petuate himself  and  his  honor.  That  there  is  affection 
among  the  people  of  India,  one  must  admit ;  but  that 
the  Taj  Mahal  had  no  other  inspiration  than  the  love 
of  Shah  Jehan  for  one  of  his  wives,  one  has  the  right 
to  question.  However  that  may  be,  the  great  mau- 
soleum is  one  of  the  greatest  and  finest  pieces  of 
architecture  which  the  mind  of  man  ever  conceived 
or  the  skill  of  workmen  ever  produced.     Shah  Jehan 

210 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

has  the  credit  for  the  majestic  structure,  but  the 
honor  is  not  his  any  more  than  St.  Peter's  is  the 
work  of  the  emperor  or  the  pope  under  whom  Mi- 
chael Angelo  labored.  It  is  said  that  the  Emperor  had 
the  eyes  of  the  architect  put  out  for  fear  that  he 
would  produce  some  other  building  that  would  surpass 
the  Taj.  While  I  am  not  able  to  substantiate  the  state- 
ment, yet  I  am  prepared  to  believe  it,  for  such  is  the 
spirit  of  the  selfish  kings  who  ruled  their  nation  for 
their  own  glory  and  impoverished  their  own  people 
for  the  gratification  of  their  personal  desires.  The 
sovereignty  of  such  willful  rulers  exhausted  India  and 
brought  the  people  to  poverty,  to  ignorance,  and  to 
helplessness.  The  world  to-day  has  a  new  thought 
and  a  new  plan  for  the  heads  of  nations. 

Whatever  may  be  one's  thought  as  to  the  Emperor's 
motive  for  building  the  Taj  Mahal,  there  can  be  no 
question  that  it  is  the  crown  of  Oriental  architecture 
and  a  masterpiece  among  the  works  of  man.  One  can 
readily  believe  that  it  required  20,000  men  twenty- 
two  years  to  construct  such  a  work  of  art  when  one 
examines  the  delicate  and  beautiful  traceries  in  marble 
which  are  to  be  found  in  every  part  of  the  great  tomb. 
The  noble  structure,  symmetrical  in  outline  and  com- 
manding in  proportions,  presents  an  exquisitely  beau- 
tiful and  faultless  picture  as  one  gets  his  first  view 
from  the  great  sandstone  gateway.  There  is  an  outer 
court  880  feet  long  and  440  feet  wide,  while  the  Taj 
garden  makes  impressive  the  approach  to  the  tomb. 
From  the  gateway  to  the  broad  marble  terrace  is  a 
long  artificial  lake,  with  a  paved  walk  on  each  side 
and  lined  with  flowers  and  foliage  of  every  kind.  In 
the  quiet  lake  is  a  soft  reflection  of  the  great  building. 

211 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

The  central  marble  platform,  on  which  the  tomb 
stands,  is  eighteen  feet  high  and  313  feet  square; 
while  the  first  platform  is  1,000  feet  wide,  400  feet 
deep,  and  five  feet  high.  The  tomb  itself  measures 
186  feet  on  each  side,  the  corners  being  beveled  off 
and  recessed  into  a  bay.  In  the  center  of  each  side 
is  a  splendid  deep  bay  sixty-three  feet  high.  The 
height  of  the  walls  and  parapet  over  them  is  108  feet. 
At  each  corner  rise  marble  domes,  while  in  the  center 
soars  the  great  central  dome  to  a  height  of  187  feet, 
while  the  metal  pinnacle  adds  another  thirty  feet. 
The  dome  rises  eighty  feet  above  the  pavement,  and 
is  fifty-eight  feet  in  diameter.  Under  the  center  of 
the  dome,  inclosed  by  a  trellis  screen  of  white  marble 
— the  acme  of  elegance  in  Indian  art — are  the  tombs 
of  the  Emperor  and  his  wife.  These  are  not,  however, 
the  true  tombs,  as  the  bodies  rest  in  a  vault  level  with 
the  surface  of  the  ground,  covered  by  plainer  tomb- 
stones placed  exactly  below  those  in  the  hall  above. 

Facts  such  as  these  are  not  difficult  to  record,  as 
they  are  set  down  in  language  that  all  can  read.  But 
the  beauty,  the  sublimity,  the  majesty  of  the  Taj 
Mahal  can  be  expressed  only  in  the  emotions  of  the 
soul  for  which  there  is  no  language.  There  is  not  a 
discord  in  this  whole  symphony  in  marble.  New 
graces  come  with  the  changes  at  early  dawn,  in  the 
falling  day,  or  even  the  mellow  moonlight.  The  gar- 
den and  the  long  walk,  the  minarets  and  the  dome, 
the  delicately  sculptured  ornamentation,  and  the  in- 
laid precious  stones  all  impress  the  visitor  with  the 
strange  beauty  and  extraordinary  fascination  of  this 
superior  work  of  architectural  art.  Perhaps  a  more 
beautiful  and  precious  style  of  ornament  in  architec- 

212 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

ture  is  not  to  be  found  in  all  the  world  than  in  the 
wreaths,  scrolls,  and  frets  of  the  Taj  Mahal.  How 
strange  that  such  a  masterpiece  of  human  art,  such 
an  achievement  of  human  skill,  such  a  conception  of 
the  human  mind  should  be  found  in  India,  the  home 
now  of  poverty,  ignorance,  and  superstition!  A  peo- 
ple that  can  produce  such  works  and  that  can  give  to 
the  world  the  literature  of  the  Vedas  should  yet  feel 
the  throb  of  true  national  life  and  rise  to  the  achieve- 
ment of  greater  things  than  are  accredited  even  to 
their  ancestors. 

A  drive  of  six  miles  brings  the  tourist  to  Secun- 
dra,  the  location  of  the  tomb  of  Akbar  the  Great. 
The  mausoleum  has  four  stories,  three  of  which  are 
of  red  sandstone,  and  the  fourth  is  of  white  marble. 
A  massive  cloister  runs  around  the  lower  story.  In 
a  plain  marble  sarcophagus  in  the  vault  is  the  body  of 
the  great  Emperor,  the  real  founder  of  the  Mogul 
Empire ;  while  on  the  flat  roof  of  the  grand  edifice 
is  another  tomb  of  Akbar  with  the  most  elaborate 
carvings  of  lilies,  ferns,  palm  trees,  and  flitting  but- 
terflies. This  tomb  is  exceedingly  beautiful.  The  in- 
tense heat  prevented  us  from  making  the  trip  to 
Fatehpur-Sikri,  the  site  of  the  ruins  of  the  once  fa- 
mous city.  But  we  saw  enough  in  Agra  to  be  greatly 
impressed  with  the  magnificence  of  the  ancient  capital 
of  the  Mogul  Empire. 

The  most  impressive  scene  which  I  had  the  privi- 
lege of  looking  upon  in  Agra  was  not  connected  with 
the  magnificent  Fort  or  the  unrivaled  Taj  Mahal,  but 
with  a  band  of  natives  in  a  village  on  the  outskirts 
of  the  city.  The  village  had  no  illumination  save  that 
of  the  myriad  stars.    Our  carriage  was  met  by  a  com- 

213 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

pany  of  boys,  who  with  lanterns  -conducted  us  across 
the  uneven  lots  to  a  place  where  a  company  of  about 
seventy-five  men,  women,  and  children  was  engaged 
in  Christian  worship.  Two  dim  lanterns  gave  the  light 
for  the  audience,  one  of  which  was  hung  on  the  eaves 
of  the  house  by  which  the  preacher  stood.  As  the 
mud  hovel,  with  its  thatched  roof  and  no  windows, 
was  no  higher  than  the  black-skinned  preacher,  he 
had  all  the  light  which  the  lantern  would  give.  The 
audience  was  seated  on  the  ground ;  but  the  seats 
were  comfortable,  as  they  were  made  of  sand  warmed 
by  the  day's  vertical  rays.  Such  singing  as  came  from 
that  dusky,  sky-clad  throng  I  have  seldom  heard. 
Not  only  the  words,  but  also  the  music  was  native 
and  fascinating  in  the  extreme.  Those  naked  boys 
and  sparsely  clothed  girls  would  put  to  shame  by  their 
full,  hearty  musical  singing  half  the  Sunday  schools 
in  America.  The  native  preacher  was  heard  attentive- 
ly while  he  read  and  expounded  the  Scriptures.  The 
earnest  prayer  met  with  hearty  response  from  several 
faithful  saints  in  the  audience.  The  missionary  was 
told  that  some  adults  and  some  children  were  present 
to  be  baptized.  The  adults  arose,  repeated  the  Ten 
Commandments  and  the  Lord's  Prayer,  and  answered 
the  questions  propounded  in  a  baptismal  service. 
Three  grown  men,  one  woman,  and  nine  children  re- 
ceived baptism.  A  more  impressive  scene  I  never 
looked  upon,  and  one  worth  the  entire  journey  to  India 
to  see.  This  is  the  way  Christianity  begins ;  the 
school,  the  college,  the  after  years  of  noble  service 
will  show  how  it  ends.  The  last  in  caste  may  yet  un- 
der Christianity  be  first  in  the  wisdom  and  power  of 
this  great  Oriental  people. 

214 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

Delhi  is  a  city  of  rare  attractions,  and  will  hold  the 
traveler  several  days  by  the  numerous  objects  of  inter- 
est which  it  is  able  to  present.  In  the  first  place,  the 
railroad  station  is  one  of  the  largest  and  finest  in  In- 
dia. Then  its  streets  are  broad  and  beautiful,  lined  in 
many  sections  with  great  trees  of  luxuriant  foliage. 
The  shops  are  for  the  most  part  well  kept,  and  the 
wares  usually  are  of  excellent  quality.  The  carving 
of  ivory  and  the  artistic  fashioning  of  silver  and  brass 
give  a  distinctive  feature  to  the  native  stores.  But 
the  tourist  finds  the  highest  interest  in  the  points  made 
famous  by  the  rule  of  the  mighty  Moguls  or  by  the 
bravery  of  the  victims  of  the  mutiny.  The  Sepoy  re- 
bellion had  its  beginning  in  1857  in  Meerut  and  Delhi, 
and  on  account  of  the  size  and  importance  of  the  lat- 
ter city  it  saw  some  of  the  severest  contests  of  the 
entire  struggle.  Ludlow  Castle,  the  Mutiny  Monu- 
ment, the  St.  James  Church  (whose  dome  cross  was 
pierced  by  many  bullets),  the  Cashmere  Gate  (the 
place  where  Nicholson  fell),  the  position  of  the  old 
magazine  which  the  brave  Lieutenant  Willoughby  ex- 
ploded were  all  visited  with  a  sense  of  patriotism. 

As  at  Agra,  so  at  Delhi  the  first  morning  was  given 
to  the  great  fort  and  palace  which  was  built  by  the 
Emperor  Shah  Jehan  1638-48.  Entering  the  Lahore 
Gate,  we  passed  under  an  imposing  archway  which 
makes  a  noble  entrance  to  the  grounds  of  the  old  pal- 
ace. Where  this  vaulted  arcade  ends  in  the  large 
open  court  were  massacred  fifty  Christians  in  1857, 
while  in  some  of  the  adjoining  rooms  some  govern- 
ment officials  were  murdered  by  the  mutineers.  From 
these  scenes  we  were  ushered  by  the  old  guide,  who 
conducted  President  Grant,  Bishop  Phillips  Brooks, 

215 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

and  other  such  Americans  through  the  old  palace,  into 
the  magnificent  Public  Audience  Hall,  a  large  building 
of  red  sandstone  open  on  three  sides,  and  with  many 
massive  pillars  elaborately  carved.  We  were  attracted 
to  the  marble  throne,  eight  or  ten  feet  high,  whose 
rich  marble  canopy  is  adorned  with  mosaics  in  pre- 
cious stones  of  flowers,  fruits,  birds,  and  beasts.  A 
Florentine  artist,  who  has  been  engaged  the  last  three 
years  in  renewing  the  inlay  work  of  the  recess  of  the 
throne,  is  just  completing  his  work,  and  the  throne  is 
now  as  beautiful  a  piece  of  art  as  one  will  find  in 
Delhi.  From  here  we  passed  into  the  Hall  of  Private 
Audience,  where  kings,  princes,  and  nobles  were  re- 
ceived. This  pavilion,  open  on  all  sides,  is  built  wholly 
of  white  marble  inlaid  with  precious  stones.  The  im- 
mense columns  of  marble,  with  graceful  arches,  are 
richly  ornamented  with  inlaid  flowers  and  birds  of 
precious  stone.  The  silver  ceiling  was  removed  by 
the  Mahrattas  when  they  captured  Delhi.  Neverthe- 
less, the  hall  possesses  a  beauty  which  is  unsurpassed. 
The  veteran  guide  pointed  out  the  famous  Persian  in- 
scription on  the  cornice,  which,  translated,  says: 

If  heaven  can  be  on  the  face  of  the  earth, 
It  is  this;  O!  it  is  this;  O!  it  is  this. 

The  hall  has  many  historical  connections,  and  has  been 
the  scene  of  many  brilliant  functions.  In  January, 
1876,  the  Prince  of  Wales  (now  the  King  of  En- 
gland) was  given  a  ball  in  this  hall  by  the  army  of 
India  on  the  occasion  of  his  visit;  and  in  honor  of  his 
coronation  a  second  ball  was  given  in  January,  1903. 
But  the  hall  is  scarcely  more  magnificent  than  the 
royal  marble  baths,  the  exquisitely  beautiful  lattice- 

216 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

work  in  the  queen's  apartments,  and  the  rich  carvings 
in  the  royal  chambers.  The  Httle  "Pearl  Mosque"  of 
white  and  gray  marble,  with  its  beautiful  bronze  door 
covered  with  rich  designs,  made  a  place  of  worship 
for  the  royal  family  which  was  as  charming  as  it  was 
sacred.  Surely  an  emperor  who  planned  so  exten- 
sively for  his  own  aggrandizement  and  who  has  left 
so  few  great  works  which  he  constructed  for  the  good 
of  his  people  needed  a  place  of  prayer  near  at  hand. 
Not  palaces  but  institutions  mark  the  greatness  of  a 
mighty  sovereign. 

The  present  Delhi  is  the  tenth  city  of  that  name,  the 
first  having  been  founded  before  the  Christian  era. 
The  extensive  ruins  of  the  other  nine  cities  lie  south 
of  the  present  one  and  cover  an  area  of  forty-five 
square  miles.  Each  king  who  desired  to  build  a  cap- 
ital according  to  his  own  design  would  have  destroyed 
the  city  that  he  found.  A  visit  to  these  ancient  ruins 
will  bring  one  to  the  splendid  tomb  of  the  Emperor 
Humayun,  the  father  of  Akbar  the  Great,  and  the 
great  fort  in  which  he  died,  and  to  a  large  number  of 
mosques  and  mausoleums,  all  built  of  costly  material 
and  constructed  with  splendor.  But  one  tires  of  the 
tombs,  even  though  they  contain  the  treasures  of  the 
dead  centuries,  and  turns  instinctively  to  the  people 
that  live  and  to  the  institutions  that  have  to  do  with 
the  present  status  of  civilization.  Delhi  is  one  of  the 
most  interesting  cities  of  the  Orient,  whether  it  be  con- 
sidered from  the  standpoint  of  the  great  Mogul  cap- 
ital or  the  storm  center  of  the  mutiny  or  the  people 
who  now  infest  its  streets  and  carry  on  its  business. 
But  however  ridiculous  the  change,  I  was  glad  to  turn 
from  the  splendid  marble  palaces  to  the  great  caravan 

217 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

of  homely,  lazy  camels  that  awkwardly  drew  them- 
selves through  the  streets,  or  to  the  barefoot  woman 
with  a  half  dozen  anklets  on  each  ankle,  two  silver 
rings  on  the  great  toe  of  each  foot,  a  burden  of  brace- 
lets on  each  arm,  enormous  rings  in  each  ear,  while 
a  nose  stud  or  a  large  gold  ring  ornamented  her  facial 
promontory.  The  men  often  attract  attention  by  their 
inordinate  affection  for  earrings,  toe  rings,  silver  belts 
and  necklaces.  Then  the  motley  throng,  with  the  tur- 
baned,  white-sacked  Mohammedan,  the  Hindu  with  a 
red  spot  in  his  forehead  or  three  stripes  across  his 
brow  or  yellow  and  white  paint  about  his  eyes  or  the 
little  tuft  of  hair  waving  in  his  crown,  or  the  high- 
classed  Brahman  with  his  cotton  string  which  marks 
his  highness  whether  he  appears  on  the  streets  clothed 
or  otherwise,  and  all  the  various  costumes  or  lack  of 
them,  make  a  scene  of  which  one  seldom  tires.  As 
one  passes  a  stream  one  finds  the  great  laundries  of 
the  Indian  city.  They  are  called  "dhobies."  But  one 
experience  with  a  dhobi  robs  one  of  all  regard  for  him 
or  his  spelling.  He  brings  the  clothes  to  the  river 
bank,  and  takes  his  stand  in  the  water,  knee-deep.  His 
washboard  is  a  stone  slab  three  to  four  feet  long  and 
two  to  three  feet  wide,  and  with  grooves  across  which 
will  occasion  sufficient  friction  to  remove  dirt,  buttons, 
or  anything  else.  He  takes  a  garment,  dips  it  in  the 
water,  and,  taking  hold  of  one  end,  he  thrashes  it 
against  the  stone  until  it  shows  the  desired  change. 
Women  usually  find  the  changes  in  their  well-beaten 
garments,  while  men  find  ruffles  and  fringes  on  their 
new  collars  and  shirts.  Starch  is  used  sparingly,  and 
the  garment  soon  returns  to  the  dhobi  or  the  tailor. 

218 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

The  native  makes  life  for  the  tourist  in  India  very 
interesting-. 

Afer  a  drive  through  the  streets  of  Delhi  it  is  well 
to  stop  at  the  Jami  Musjid,  the  most  famous  mosque 
in  India  and  the  largest  in  the  world.  On  Friday  of 
each  week  4,000  people  gather  at  one  o'clock  within 
its  courts  to  pray.  It  is  not  unlike  the  great  Pearl 
Mosque  in  the  fort  at  Agra ;  but  it  is  much  larger, 
has  two  noble  minarets,  and  is  designed  to  produce  a 
pleasing  effect  externally.  It  is  raised  on  a  lofty  base- 
ment, and  its  three  noble  gateways  are  approached  by 
grand  flights  of  steps.  The  quadrangle  is  325  feet 
square,  in  the  center  of  which  is  a  marble  basin  and 
fountain  where  the  worshipers  devoutly  wash  their 
hands,  face,  and  mouth  before  they  enter  the  place 
of  prayer.  Around  the  quadrangle  runs  a  stone  clois- 
ter fifteen  feet  wide.  The  mosque  proper  is  200  feet 
broad  and  90  feet  deep,  into  which  the  visitors  could 
enter  only  after  they  had  slipped  cloth  covers  over 
their  shoes.  Each  marble  slab  in  the  floor  was  marked 
by  a  black  border  and  formed  the  kneeling  place  for  a 
single  worshiper,  while  the  marble  stairway  in  the 
center  by  the  recess  in  the  wall  furnished  the  pulpit 
for  the  priest.  In  the  corner  of  the  court  is  a  pavilion 
from  which  relics  of  Mohammed  the  prophet  were 
shown  us.  We  looked  upon  the  impress  of  his  foot 
in  marble,  a  pair  of  his  slippers,  and  upon  his  one  red 
beard,  and  turned  away,  doubting. 

Mohammedanism  is  strongest  in  Northern  India, 
Bengal  being  the  home  of  more  than  25,000,000,  the 
Punjab  of  12,000,000,  and  the  United  Provinces  of 
7,000,000  of  the  62,000,000  Moslems  in  the  empire. 
The  Alohammedan  reign  in  India  began  about  1000 

219 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

A.D.,  and  continued  through  eight  dynasties  till  1761. 
The  powerful  line  of  conquerors  were  the  Mongols, 
of  which  Tamerlane  was  the  first,  although  Baber, 
his  grandson,  was  the  first  to  hold  the  title  of  em- 
peror. Akbar  the  Great,  the  grandson  of  Baber, 
reigned  from  1556  to  1605,  ^"^  was  the  greatest  sov- 
ereign that  India  ever  had,  although  his  grandson, 
Shah  Jehan,  is  more  noted  for  the  splendor  of  his 
reign.  Auranzeb  undermined  the  dynasty  by  attempt- 
ing to  impose  the  Moslem  faith  upon  the  Hindus,  and 
the  Mahrattas  arose  as  the  new  Hindu  power.  The 
domination  of  the  Mohammedans  in  India  was  cruel, 
as  it  is  and  always  has  been  everywhere.  For  many 
centuries  India  has  had  no  unity  or  sense  of  national- 
ity, and  genuine  patriotism  is  unknown  among  the 
people.  The  bulk  of  the  population  is  indifferent  as 
to  what  power  rules  India  so  long  as  opportunity  is 
given  to  live  peacefully  and  with  little  struggle.  Great 
Britain  could  not  hold  India  were  it  not  for  the  igno- 
rance and  poverty  of  the  masses  and  their  utter  lack 
of  national  spirit.  It  has  always  been  true  that  lead- 
ers of  native  soldiery  can  be  used  to  maintain  the 
authority  of  the  government  in  control.  India  was 
won  for  England  by  armies  four-fifths  of  which  were 
native  troops,  and  two-thirds  of  the  forces  in  the  gar- 
rison to-day  are  natives.  England  has  made  a  very 
small  outlay  in  men  or  money  to  win  and  to  hold  the 
empire  of  India.  A  weak,  lazy,  indifferent  people  ask 
only  for  small  taxes,  few  demands,  and  large  benefits. 
It  is  very  doubtful  if  such  a  people  is  capable  of  self- 
government.  The  rulers  of  the  native  provinces,  when 
left  alone,  seem  utterly  incapable  of  governing  for  the 
betterment  of  the  people.     They  seek  only  personal 

220 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

aggrandizement  and  barbaric  display.  The  Indian 
shows  very  few  quahties  that  would  make  him  capable 
of  being  a  world  citizen. 

The  form  of  administration  of  the  British  govern- 
ment in  India  is  not  radically  different  from  that  in 
the  colonies.  The  supreme  authority,  subject  to  the 
control  of  the  Secretary  of  State  for  India,  is  vested 
in  the  Viceroy  and  his  council  of  six  members,  who 
are  the  Commander  in  Chief  of  the  Army  in  India, 
the  Secretary  of  the  Department  of  Home  and  Reve- 
nue, the  head  of  the  Department  of  Public  Works 
(which  includes  railways  and  irrigation),  the  Secre- 
tary of  Finance,  the  Chief  Justice,  and  the  Secretary 
of  the  Military  Department.  Under  the  Home  Depart- 
ment are  the  Departments  of  Justice,  Police,  Prisons, 
Education,  Public  Health,  Asylums,  Local  Govern- 
ments. Commerce,  excise,  and  stamps  of  all  kinds 
are  subject  to  the  Financial  Department.  The  Postal 
and  Telegraph  Departments  are  administered  by  two 
Director  Generals  under  the  control  of  the  supreme 
government.  The  army,  which  consists  of  about  80,- 
000  British  troops  and  170,000  native  soldiers,  with 
22,000  native  reserves,  16,000  imperial  service  troops 
furnished  by  the  native  States,  and  30,000  European 
and  Anglo-Indian  volunteers,  is  under  the  control  of 
the  Commander  in  Chief  and  under  the  direct  orders 
of  Lieutenant  Generals  commanding  the  Bombay, 
Madras,  Bengal,  Burma,  and  Punjab  Army  Corps. 
The  resignation  of  the  high-spirited,  keen-visioned, 
superior  Lord  Curzon  from  the  viceroyalty  was  due 
to  the  supreme  command  of  the  army  of  India  being 
in  the  hands  of  the  Commander  in  Chief  rather  than 
in  the  Viceroy's. 

221 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

At  the  head  of  each  province  is  a  Governor,  a  Lieu- 
tenant Governor,  or  a  Chief  Commissioner.  The  Gov- 
ernors of  Bombay  and  Madras  are  appointed  by  the 
government  at  London,  as  Bombay  and  Madras  are 
still  presidencies,  as  is  Calcutta,  according  to  the  rights 
vested  in  the  old  companies  that  formerly  controlled 
them.  The  Governors  of  Bombay  and  Madras  are  as- 
sisted by  a  council  of  two  members ;  and  in  these  gov- 
ernments and  those  of  the  Lieutenant  Governors  of 
Lower  Bengal,  the  United  Provinces  of  Agra  and 
Oudh,  the  Punjab,  and  Burma  is  a  provincial  legis- 
lative council  with  powers  to  deal  with  certain  limited 
classes  of  legislation.  The  legislative  council  of  the 
Governor  General  includes  the  members  of  the  execu- 
tive council  and  a  number  of  additional  members  offi- 
cial and  nonofficial.  The  majority  of  the  nonofficial 
members  are  selected  by  the  Viceroy.  Among  the 
nonofficial  members  are  several  native  gentlemen,  but 
their  votes  are  too  few  to  control  legislation.  There 
is  a  native  council,  but  its  resolutions  are  no  more 
than  advisory.  The  Englishman  claims  the  owner- 
ship of  India,  and  the  Indians  are  to  be  governed  and 
not  to  govern.  It  is  true  that  there  are  some  districts 
governed  by  native  rajahs  or  maharajahs,  but  always 
with  the  assistance  of  a  British  councilor,  whose  advice 
is  never  disregarded.  Many  of  these  maharajahs  have 
considerable  wealth  and  live  in  barbaric  splendor,  but 
their  days  of  real  power  have  already  had  their  sunsets. 

The  provinces  are  divided  into  districts  over  which 
are  commissioners.  These  districts  are  divided  into 
smaller  territories  over  which  are  magistrates.  Each 
magistracy  is  composed  of  a  certain  number  of  vil- 
lages for  whom  a  headman  is  responsible.    With  this 

222 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

system  the  whole  empire  is  readily  reached  by  the 
general  government.  The  management  of  the  local 
concerns  of  municipalities  and  district  boards  is  large- 
ly in  the  hands  of  members  of  the  native  community 
selected  or  elected.  A  large  number  of  the  magistrates 
and  subcollectors  are  natives.  It  seems  to  be  the  policy 
of  the  government  to  employ  the  native  people  in  the 
administration  affairs  as  far  as  possible.  But  of  the 
I50,cxx)  people  in  India  who  are  British-born  at  least 
three-fourths  are  connected  in  some  way  with  the  gov- 
ernment. While  the  whole  system  is  utterly  foreign 
to  the  thought  and  training  of  an  American,  yet  no 
casual  observer  can  fail  to  be  impressed  with  the  won- 
derful achievements  which  the  British  government  has 
brought  about  for  the  good  of  the  Indians  and  which 
would  have  been  impossible  under  any  native  govern- 
ment. The  cities  have  good  systems  of  waterworks. 
The  parks  and  public  buildings  and  the  good  streets 
in  certain  sections  have  all  come  by  British  rule. 
Large  military  posts  are  maintained  in  the  great  cities, 
and  facilities  for  travel  have  been  provided  and  are 
managed  by  the  government.  It  is  true  that  India 
has  paid  the  bill  in  every  case  and  usually  without  the 
opportunity  of  sanctioning  the  outlay,  yet  there  has 
been  no  waste  of  resources.  However,  the  day  has 
already  arrived  when  the  natives  are  demanding  great- 
er rights  in  the  management  of  their  national  affairs. 
An  outsider  cannot  fail  to  view  this  movement  with 
great  interest,  as  it  may  possibly  be  the  first  stages  of 
the  awakening  of  a  nation  whose  history  has  not  been 
wanting  in  literature  which  has  won  the  admiration  of 
all  scholars,  nor  in  philosophy  which  has  affected  the 
thought  of  the.  world. 

223 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

It  is  claimed  that  "taxation  in  India  is  lighter  than 
in  any  other  civilized  country  in  the  world."  Never- 
theless, it  is  true  that  the  government  is  very  ex- 
pensive. The  Viceroy  receives  a  salary  of  $100,000  a 
year,  the  Lieutenant  Governors  of  $50,000  to  $60,000 
a  year.  British  standards  of  life  must  be  maintained, 
and  salaries  must  be  sufficiently  large  to  tempt  com- 
petent men  to  a  life  of  exile.  So  salaries  are  high — 
the  best  paid  to  civil  service  officials  in  the  world — 
and  the  pensions  are  ample.  The  great  army  of  civil 
servants  and  the  large  bodies  of  troops  must  be  sup- 
ported by  the  native  treasury.  But  the  worst  feature 
of  it  all  is  that  the  foreign  occupation  crushes  the 
native  spirit,  for  a  native  is  always  servile  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  white  Anglo-Saxon.  The  only  force  that 
will  lead  to  the  development  of  the  people  is  a  meas- 
ure of  self-government.  Great  Britain  can  well  afford 
to  have  Indians  in  her  House  of  Commons.  If  she 
cannot  bring  the  Indians  to  the  capacity  for  self-gov- 
ernment, she  may  v;ell  ask  what  has  been  the  benefit 
of  her  long  years  in  the  East.  India  is  no  place  for 
forage ;  and  if  it  is  held  by  the  British  crown  only 
for  political  and  industrial  gain,  then  one  may  ask. 
How  much  better  is  her  ultimate  outcome  than  that  of 
the  mighty  Moguls  ?  Her  schools  must  make  men  and 
not  merely  official  servants.  Her  institutions  must 
build  up  a  great  national  spirit,  as  well  as  afford  tem- 
poral comforts.  England  has  her  problems  in  India, 
and  the  world  awaits  the  solution. 

224 


CHAPTER  XVI. 
Jeypore,  Ahmedabao,  and  Bombay. 

ONE  night's  travel  brought  us  from  Delhi  to  Jey- 
pore ;  and  by  half  past  six  o'clock  in  the  morning 
we  were  on  the  streets  of  the  latter  interesting  city, 
being  entertained  by  the  ever- fascinating  panorama 
of  Indian  life.  The  market  places  were  alive  with  the 
vegetable  venders  sitting  on  the  ground  with  their 
small  bags  or  baskets  of  commodities  at  their  sides. 
No  sale,  however  small,  was  made  without  much  bar- 
gaining. The  asking  price  is  a  variable  in  the  mind 
of  the  seller,  while  the  selling  price  is  the  resultant  of 
two  Oriental  forces  meeting  on  the  plane  of  a  pice. 
Nothing  is  bought  or  sold  in  the  market  without  the 
scales  ("balances")  being  used.  The  word  of  an  Ori- 
ental does  not  weigh  much,  and  consequently  he  is 
compelled  to  use  the  standards  in  delivering  his  goods. 
But  that  great  street,  broad  and  clean  (for  India), 
thronged  with  people  of  all  the  castes  known  to  a 
Hindu,  clad  in  all  the  costumes  known  to  the  Indian 
mind,  made  a  scene  which  any  man  may  well  cross 
the  oceans  to  look  upon.  If  life  is  to  be  seen  in  India 
at  its  fullest  and  keenest,  the  observer  needs  to  visit 
the  bazaars.  Now,  a  bazaar  is  not  a  large  department 
store,  such  as  Wanamaker's  or  Marshall  Field's,  but 
a  street  lined  and  even  filled  with  what  might  be  called 
booths,  at  which  things  known  and  even  dreamed  of 
are  sold.  In  Rangoon  the  municipal  government  has 
built  a  large  markethouse,  in  which  there  are  stalls  at 
15  225 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

which  merchants  of  all  kinds  sell  their  wares;  but  in 
India  the  bazaar  is  simply  the  market  place  in  the 
street,  which  is  lined  with  shops  and  filled  with  the 
most  interesting  mass  of  humanity  that  ever  man  at- 
tempted to  study.  The  booths  (for  such  are  almost 
all  the  Indian  stores)  are  eight  to  ten  feet  wide,  six 
feet  deep,  and  six  feet  high.  The  floor  is  raised  about 
two  feet  above  ground.  The  customer  stands  on  the 
outside  in  the  street,  for  there  are  no  sidewalks,  and 
the  merchant  sits  on  the  floor  and  shows  his  goods, 
makes  his  prices,  and  says :  "How  much  you  give  me  ?" 
The  number  of  witnesses  to  any  bargain  or  even  bar- 
gaining would  be  sufficient  to  establish  the  truth  of  any 
statement  in  any  court;  for  if  there  is  anything  that 
Orientals  enjoy,  it  is  the  bargaining  in  a  bazaar;  and 
they  flock  to  the  side  of  every  purchaser  as  birds  to 
a  shock  of  grain.  One  can  get  no  idea  of  the  worth  of 
an  article  from  the  price  that  is  asked.  Only  yesterday 
I  saw  a  lady  purchase  for  one  dollar  and  a  half  a  fan 
for  which  ten  dollars  was  asked,  while  a  shawl  for 
which  thirty  dollars  was  demanded  sold  for  ten  dollars. 
In  India  bargaining  is  necessary  in  all  trading,  and 
those  who  do  not  know  the  art  pay  for  their  igno- 
rance. 

Jeypore,  a  city  of  160,000  people,  is  the  capital  of 
the  province  of  Jaipur  in  the  great  section  known  as 
Rajputana;  and  the  present  chief  is  His  Highness 
Maharajah  Dhiraj  Siwai  Sir  Maddho  Singh,  G.  C.  S. 
I.,  G.  C.  V.  O.  By  the  permission  of  the  British  Resi- 
dent, whose  influence  at  the  court  is  greater  than  that 
of  the  Maharajah  himself,  we  visited  the  Maharajah's 
palace,  with  its  beautiful  gardens  and  pleasure  grounds 
adorned  with  playing   fountain;,  artificial   lakes,  fine 

226 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

trees,  and  flowing  shrubs.  The  marble  halls  for  pub- 
lic audience  and  the  magnificent  chamber  for  pri- 
vate audiences  might  have  been  more  impressive  had 
we  not  so  recently  looked  upon  the  splendor  of  Delhi 
and  Agra.  The  apartments  for  the  Maharajah,  his 
courtiers,  and  his  wives  are  gaudily  furnished  after 
modern  foreign  patterns.  The  building  is  wanting  in 
the  elements  of  good  architecture.  The  royal  stables 
were  extensive  and  were  filled  with  two  or  three  hun- 
dred fine  horses,  many  of  them  being  Arabian  steeds, 
while  others  were  from  Australia  and  England.  For 
State  occasions  the  native  monarch  uses  a  half  dozen 
fine  elephants,  or  a  half  hundred  if  need  be,  to  trans- 
port his  dignity  through  the  streets  of  his  capital. 
The  royal  carriages  were  numerous  and  of  all  shapes 
and  sizes,  with  decorations  suited  to  all  the  numerous 
functions  for  which  an  Indian  prince  would  need  a 
carriage.  The  Maharajah  keeps  his  soldiers,  levies 
his  taxes,  builds  such  public  works  as  he  desires,  and 
carries  on  a  provincial  government  under  the  advice 
of  the  British  Resident.  The  Rajahs  in  the  Rajputana 
are  the  most  powerful  in  India,  and  they  have  been 
strongly  felt  for  many  centuries  in  the  government  of 
India.  While  the  Maharajah  of  Jeypore  seems  to  be 
the  royal  head  of  an  independent  government,  yet  the 
suzerainty  of  the  English  government  is  readily  and 
freely  acknowledged. 

Jeypore  is  spelled  "Jaipur"  in  India,  and  received 
its  name  from  its  famous  founder,  Maharajah  Siwai 
Jai  Singh,  the  celebrated  royal  astronomer  who  built 
unique  observatories  at  Benares,  Muttra,  Delhi,  Ujjian, 
and  Jeypore.  The  Observatory  is  not  a  building  with 
a  firmly  set  tower  and  large  movable  instruments  such 

227 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

as  are  used  to-day;  but  it  is  a  large,  open  courtyard 
full  of  curious  and  fantastic  instruments  designed  by 
him.  It  was  erected  in  1718-34,  and  has  been  recently 
restored  by  the  present  Maharajah  through  the  agency 
of  Lieutenant  A.  Garrett  and  Pundit  Chandradhar 
Galeri,  There  are  instruments  for  reading  altitudes 
and  azimuths,  for  determining  celestial  latitudes  and 
longitudes,  and  for  finding  times,  movements,  and  dis- 
tances in  the  heavenly  worlds.  Among  the  acts  of 
this  old  ruler  who  loved  the  celestial  science  was  an 
order  to  secure  the  translation  in  Sanskrit  of  Euclid's 
"Elements,"  the  treatises  on  plain  and  spherical  trig- 
onometry, and  Napier  on  the  use  of  logarithms.  Jai 
Singh  has  a  high  place  in  the  world's  list  of  great 
astronomers.  These  Hindu  rulers  may  have  been 
wanting  in  many  qualities  that  present-day  sovereigns 
ought  to  show,  yet  they  have  been  patrons  of  learning. 
The  Maharajah  College  in  Jeypore  has  an  attendance 
of  1,200  to  1,400  young  men,  and  compares  favorably 
with  the  other  colleges  of  British  India.  It  is  affil- 
iated with  the  Calcutta  University.  Public  instruction 
is  making  considerable  progress  in  this  principal  State 
of  the  Rajputana. 

As  we  came  into  the  street  from  a  shop,  we  found 
a  small  cart  with  a  red  canopy  to  which  were  hitched 
two  sleepy-looking  bullocks.  In  the  cart  were  two  or 
three  children,  and  others  in  gaudy  dress  were  climb- 
ing in,  while  a  company  of  women  were  engaged  as 
though  they  were  interested  in  some  social  function. 
In  front  of  the  bullocks  were  a  dozen  men  and  boys 
fantastically  dressed,  with  strangely  shaped  musical 
instruments  in  their  hands.  "A  wedding,"  said  the 
guide,  and  then  we  peered  the  more  earnestly.     In 

228 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

climbed  the  groom,  a  boy  of  ten  or  twelve  years,  at- 
tired, as  much  as  the  occasion  demanded,  in  scarlet, 
with  some  Hindu  spots  between  his  eyes  and  three 
priestly  stripes  across  his  brow,  the  advertisement  of 
a  Brahman.  The  red  juice  of  the  betel  nut  was  on  his 
lips.  He  seemed  listless,  with  no  interest  in  the  occa- 
sion in  which  he  supposedly  was  to  be  the  chief  actor. 
He  was  as  much  interested  in  us  as  we  were  in  him, 
and  so  there  was  no  embarrassment  for  either  party  as 
we  gazed  at  each  other.  After  him  shortly  came  a 
little  girl,  seven  to  ten  years  old,  with  garments  of 
scarlet  and  gold  and  the  red  head  cloth  drawn  down 
over  her  face.  That  was  the  bride.  Her  child's  curi- 
osity, however,  made  her  lift  her  veil  to  look  out  at 
us,  and  as  she  did  so  we  looked  in  at  her.  Anyway, 
her  husband  had  his  back  turned  to  her,  and  so  no 
family  trouble  was  caused.  When  the  cart  was  filled, 
the  "band"  struck  up  some  native  noise  and  the  mar- 
riage procession,  made  up  of  a  company  of  gayly 
dressed  women  and  all  the  elements  to  be  found  in 
an  Indian  street,  moved  on  to  its  domestic  destination. 
The  husband  and  wife,  by  the  laws  which  the  British 
government  has  enacted,  will  not  be  allowed  to  live 
together  until  the  wife  reaches  the  age  of  twelve  years. 
Should  the  husband  die,  the  wife  would  be  a  widow 
for  life,  her  head  would  be  shaved,  and  she  would  be 
treated  as  the  most  abject,  despised  person  living,  be- 
ing deprived  of  many  kinds  of  food  and  being  com- 
pelled to  fast  weekly.  She  would  be  looked  upon  as 
having  committed  a  grievous  offense.  There  are  26,- 
000,000  widows  in  India,  of  whom  400,000  are  less 
than  fifteen  years  old.  There  are  9,000,000  wives  in 
India  under  fifteen  years  of  age.     The  worst  mis- 

229 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

fortune  that  can  befall  a  woman,  according  to  the 
belief  of  a  Hindu,  is  to  remain  unmarried,  as  her 
social  status  and  religious  destiny  depend  upon  her 
husband.  So  marriage  has  become  a  mercenary  trans- 
action, and  usually  takes  place  Avhen  the  bride  is  a 
helpless  babe.  Sometimes  a  child  is  married  to  an 
old  man  if  he  is  a  caste  higher.  He  concedes  the  priv- 
ilege for  money.  He  may  have  other  wives,  as  polyg- 
amy prevails  to  a  large  extent  in  India.  In  case  of 
a  wife's  death,  he  can  marry  as  often  as  he  desires. 
Formerly  the  widow  was  burned  on  the  funeral  pyre 
with  her  husband,  but  the  British  government  has 
abolished  by  law  that  barbarous  custom.  Womanhood 
is  not  appreciated  in  India.  Among  the  Hindus  the 
wife  is  under  the  mother-in-law.  The  Mohammedan 
is  a  hard,  dictatorial  lord.  Among  the  Buddhists  the 
highest  hope  of  a  woman  is  to  be  reborn  a  man.  Only 
Christianity  gives  woman  her  true  place  as  man's  com- 
panion. 

The  homes  of  the  wealthy  natives  are  capacious  and 
frequently  have  accommodations  for  two  hundred  per- 
sons; but  the  houses  of  the  middle  and  lower  classes 
are  gloomy  and  unattractive.  Usually  they  are  dirty 
and  are  in  every  way  poorly  kept.  There  is  little  or 
no  furniture,  no  floor  but  the  earth,  no  chimney,  only 
small  windows,  and  they  set  high ;  white  cows,  buffa- 
loes, bullocks,  and  their  accompaniments  are  accorded 
a  full  share  of  the  domicile.  The  crude  bedstead  is  a 
small  frame  eighteen  inches  high,  six  feet  long,  and 
three  feet  broad,  bound  together  by  grass  cords.  A 
blanket  makes  up  the  whole  quota  of  bedding.  The 
cooking  vessels  are  earthen,  while  a  few  brass  cups 
and  plates,  an  earthen  water  jar,  and  one  knife  make 

230 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

up  the  tableware.  The  rules  of  caste  keep  things 
clean.  These  rules  are:  Only  persons  of  the  same 
caste  may  eat  together ;  meals  must  not  be  cooked  ex- 
cept by  a  person  of  the  same  caste  or  by  a  Brahman; 
no  man  of  inferior  caste  may  touch  the  rations  or  en- 
ter the  cook  room ;  no  water  or  liquor  contaminated 
by  the  touch  of  a  man  of  inferior  caste  can  be  used, 
except  water  from  rivers  or  public  tanks;  articles  of 
dry  food  are  contaminated  only  if  they  pass  through 
the  hands  of  an  inferior  caste  buttered  or  greased; 
cow's  flesh,  pork,  fowl,  and  similar  meats  are  for- 
bidden. The  caste  rules  also  declare  that  intermar- 
riage between  castes  is  impossible,  change  of  occu- 
pation is  forbidden,  and  an  ocean  voyage  and  crossing 
the  boundaries  of  India  are  not  allowed. 

Ahmedabad,  once  the  greatest  city  in  Western  In- 
dia and  now  considered  by  many  critics  as  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  in  the  empire,  is  three  hundred  and 
ninety  miles  from  Jeypore  and  three  hundred  and  ten 
from  Bombay.  It  has  a  population  of  190,000,  and  is 
known  as  a  great  industrial  center.  One  is  struck  with 
the  blending  here  of  the  East  and  the  West,  for  along 
with  the  tall  chimneys  of  cotton  mills  and  the  flour 
mills  will  be  found  some  of  the  most  perfect  speci- 
mens of  Mohammedan  architecture  to  be  found  in 
India.  The  city  is  surrounded  by  great  plains  of  rich 
black  soil,  on  which  the  cotton  grows  plentifully  and 
luxuriantly.  Many  wealthy  Hindus,  owners  of  the 
great  mills,  have  immense  palatial  homes  on  some  well- 
kept,  broad  streets  which  may  be  called  boulevards  in 
comparison  with  the  narrow  lanes  of  the  old  part  of 
the  city.  The  carriage  driver  was  able  to  show  the 
good  speed  of  his  Indian  pony  on  the  broad  thorough- 

231 ' 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

fare ;  but  in  the  old  quarters  he  gave  loud  warning  of 
his  coming,  and  the  people  lined  up  on  either  side  to 
allow  us  to  pass.  In  these  streets  we  touched  upon 
many  homes  of  those  who  were  confined  by  lowly  cir- 
cumstances to  the  little  cells  where  fresh  air  is  un- 
known, and  where  all  they  look  upon  is  the  great 
stream  of  passing  humanity. 

The  mosques,  temples,  and  odd  ruins  are  bewilder- 
ing in  their  number.  The  traveler  scarcely  leaves  the 
railway  station  before  he  sees  two  lofty  minarets 
among  the  trees,  from  which  the  mosque  has  prac- 
tically disappeared.  A  few  minutes  brought  us  to  the 
Jama  Mas j id,  which  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
mosques  in  the  East.  The  open  court,  the  tank  where 
the  faithful  bathe,  and  the  cloisters  all  bring  to  mind 
the  temples  seen  before.  From  here  we  went  to  the 
tomb  of  Ahmed  Shah,  the  great  ruler  who  gave  the 
city  its  fame,  and  who  died  in  1441.  The  mausoleums 
of  himself,  his  son,  and  grandson  show  the  artist's 
hand  and  the  splendor  of  the  emperor's  reign.  Near 
by  is  another  building  which  contains  the  tombs  of 
Ahmed's  favorite  wives  and  also  the  tiny  tombs  of  a 
dog,  a  cat,  and  a  parrot.  The  Tin  Darwazah,  or 
Three  Gateways,  is  of  stone  richly  carved,  and  was 
built  by  Ahmed;  while  the  Bhadr  is  a  handsome  en- 
trance made  by  Ahmed  Shah  into  an  octagonal  hall  of 
great  elegance.  Adjoining  this  structure  is  the  Sidi 
Said's  Mosque,  which  is  noted  for  two  of  its  win- 
dows, which  are  filled  with  delicate  stone  tracery  of 
tree  stems  and  branches  beautifully  wrought.  A  critic 
has  said:  "There  are  some  exquisite  specimens  of 
tracery  in  precious  marbles  at  Agra  and  Delhi,  but 
none  quite  equal  this."     But  of  the  Queen's  Mosque 

232  "" 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

and  other  tombs  there  is  no  need  that  I  should  write. 
However,  mention  must  be  made  of  the  Hathi  Singh 
Temple,  which  was  built  in  1848  for  a  million  rupees 
by  the  sects  called  Jains.  It  is  a  beautiful  structure, 
with  a  style  of  architecture  peculiar  to  that  religious 
sect.  The  entrance  is  from  a  courtyard  surrounded  by 
a  corridor,  where  shoes  were  removed  before  the  rich- 
ly carved  portico  was  mounted.  Every  part  of  the 
temple  was  paved  with  colored  marble.  Passing 
through  the  corridor,  which  extends  entirely  around 
the  temple,  one  looks  through  iron  gratings  to  the 
beautiful  images  which  the  faithful  worship.  The  day 
happened  to  be  a  festal  day,  and  the  gold,  silver,  and 
precious  stones  were  found  in  profusion  on  these  mar- 
ble images.  The  Jains  are  found  only  in  India  and 
number  only  about  1,400,000.  Their  founder  was  a 
contemporary  of  Gautama,  and  their  faith  is  not  great- 
ly unlike  Buddhism.  They  have  twenty-four  saints, 
and  each  is  known  by  a  symbol.  They  consider  bodily 
penance  to  be  necessary  to  salvation,  and  believe  that 
even  inorganic  matter  may  have  a  soul.  They  carry 
their  regard  for  animal  life  to  the  extreme.  They 
will  not  kill  anything,  not  even  insects.  They  main- 
tain hospitals  for  cats,  dogs,  decrepit  horses,  diseased 
cows,  and  such  other  animals  and  even  insects  as  can 
be  provided  for.  In  Ahmedabad  in  many  streets  will 
be  found  little  stone  houses  richly  carved  and  built  on 
stone  pillars  twelve  feet  high  for  the  birds  who  may 
care  to  live  in  them.  As  a  people  they  are  wealthy, 
intelligent,  and  progressive.  In  the  eradication  of 
birds  or  animals  that  may  carry  any  dangerous  disease, 
they  are  great  obstructionists ;  but  in  the  industrial 

233 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

enterprises  which  build  up  a  community  they  are  al- 
ways in  the  lead. 

A  visit  to  the  Wells  of  Dada  Hari,  just  outside  of 
the  city,  not  only  let  us  view  a  unique  and  strange 
structure  that  required  some  skill  in  engineering,  but 
it  gave  us  an  opportunity  of  seeing  a  large  number 
of  gray  monkeys  on  the  fences  and  in  the  trees,  run- 
ning at  will  and  feeding  upon  what  they  find.  They 
are  seldom  hungry — a  thing  that  cannot  be  said  of 
all  the  people  that  we  have  seen  in  India,  for  it  is 
estimated  that  60,000,000  people  in  this  country  con- 
stantly suffer  hunger.  It  is  no  wonder  that  disease 
commits  such  ravages.  But  when  it  is  known  that 
common  laborers  make  only  five  to  six  cents  a  day, 
it  is  no  surprise  that  there  is  hunger.  The  insane  pas- 
sion for  jewels  is  responsible  somewhat  for  many  a 
hungry  body.  The  Hindus  must  have  rings  in  their 
ears,  their  noses,  on  their  fingers  and  their  toes,  brace- 
lets on  their  arms,  anklets  on  their  feet,  and  all  sorts 
of  gaudy  attire,  even  if  there  are  children  without 
clothes  and  suffering  from  the  lack  of  bread,  or,  more 
properly,  millet  or  rice,  for  nine-tenths  of  the  people 
live  on  rice  and  curry.  Millet  of  many  kinds  is  a  com- 
mon article  of  diet.  The  wheat  for  the  lowly  is  not 
prepared  in  the  great  flouring  mills,  but  by  women  sit- 
ting on  the  ground  turning  one  stone  upon  another,  as 
in  Bible  times.  What  the  apple  is  to  America  the 
mango  is  to  India;  while  bananas,  pineapples,  lemons, 
limes  of  many  kinds,  the  jack  fruit,  and  durian  grow 
in  profusion.  Nevertheless,  many  millions  suffer,  and 
the  cry  of  famine  is  ever  heard  in  the  land. 

Bombay,  with  its  million  people,  is  a  great  city  and 
in  many  ways  the  most  beautiful  in  India.     Its  build- 

234 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

ings  rival  those  of  many  imposing  English  cities,  while 
its  streets  in  the  European  quarter  cannot  be  discount- 
ed. The  street  car  system  is  the  best  to  be  found  in 
the  East.  The  great  Victoria  Railway  station  is  the 
finest  station  in  India  and  one  of  the  finest  in  the 
world.  The  style  of  its  architecture  is  Italian  Gothic, 
with  some  Oriental  modifications  in  the  domes.  It 
cost  $1,500,000.  The  municipal  building,  with  its  tow- 
er two  hundred  and  fifty-five  feet  high,  can  be  seen 
from  all  parts  of  Bombay,  and  is  also  a  fine  piece  of 
Gothic  architecture.  The  University  Hall,  with  the 
university  library  and  clock  tower,  are  very  imposing 
structures ;  while  the  magnificent  Elphinstone  College 
would  attract  attention  in  any  commiuiity.  The  post 
office  and  the  telegraph  ofiice,  in  modern  Gothic  style, 
are  credits  to  the  great  city.  The  old  Cathedral  of 
St.  Thomas,  built  in  17 18,  is  a  historic  structure,  and 
in  it  may  be  found  many  tablets  erected  to  the  memory 
of  important  personages  who  have  lived  and  died  in 
Bombay.  The  Royal  Alfred  Sailors'  Home,  with  ac- 
commodations for  one  hundred  men,  is  a  beautiful 
edifice  and  one  dedicated  to  a  noble  cause — the  care 
of  those  who  sail  the  sea.  Of  the  Victoria  and  Albert 
Museum,  the  various  fine  hospitals,  the  Victoria  Gar- 
dens (with  their  thirty- four  acres),  the  numerous  med- 
ical schools,  the  mint,  the  immense  Court  of  Justice, 
the  Secretariat,  and  other  such  excellent  public  build- 
ings it  is  not  necessary  that  I  should  speak.  One 
cannot  fail  to  be  struck  with  the  superior  architecture 
which  is  to  be  found  in  the  European  quarter  of  Bom- 
bay. No  city  in  India  offers  such  driveways  in  the 
evening  as  Bombay.  Queen's  Road,  along  the  beach, 
is  the  meeting  place  of  the  various  people  of  the  beau- 

235 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

tiful  city.  The  road  is  deservedly  popular  as  a  drive 
because  of  its  beauty  and  the  view  which  it  affords. 
On  the  one  side  are  high  trees  reaching  far  over  the 
road;  on  the  other  are  young  palms  which  break  the 
line  of  brown  grass  reaching  to  the  sea.  From  half 
past  five  to  eight  o'clock  every  evening  the  sight  here 
is  a  gay  one.  The  imposing  span  and  fine  victoria 
and  scarlet'  liveries,  prancing  horses  and  shabby  car- 
riages, rats  of  ponies  with  carts  to  match,  the  bullocks 
and  their  slow-moving  vehicles,  handsomely  dressed 
Europeans,  Parsee  ladies  in  brilliant  saris,  and  a  vast 
throng  of  pleasure  seekers  make  up  a  scene  to  be 
found  nowhere  else  in  the  world.  From  Queen's  Road 
the  drive  leads  up  Malabar  Hill,  from  one  side  of 
which  we  had  a  magnificent  view  of  the  great  city, 
and  from  the  other  side  we  looked  out  upon  the  roll- 
ing sea.  We  visited  the  "Hanging  Gardens"  on  the 
ridge,  the  t>'pically  tropical  spot  of  Bombay ;  and  from 
there  we  looked  across  Back  Bay  to  the  roofs  and 
domes  of  the  city  and  the  great  black  masses  of  tall 
palms,  and  then  we  turned  our  faces  to  the  west  and 
watched  the  flaming  red  sun  drop  like  a  ball  into  the 
glorious  sea.  We  did  not  wonder  that  hundreds  of 
Parsees,  the  followers  of  Zoroaster,  sat  in  humble 
worship  before  this  stirring  scene. 

On  this  same  hill,  where  the  wealthy  have  built  their 
palatial  residences,  are  the  "Towers  of  Silence,"  where 
the  Parsees  dispose  of  their  dead.  There  are  less 
than  one  hundred  thousand  Parsees  in  India,  but 
eighty-five  per  cet  of  them  live  in  Bombay.  They  are 
the  bankers,  the  merchants,  the  commercial  magnates 
of  Bombay,  and  for  the  most  part  they  live  in  ex- 
cellent homes   and   many   of   them   in  great   palaces. 

236 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

They  are  called  the  "Jews  of  India"  because  of  their 
capacity  for  accumulating  wealth  and  because  of  their 
racial  exclusiveness.  They  came  from  Persia,  where 
they  were  persecuted.  During  the  American  Civil 
War  they  made  immense  fortunes  in  Bombay  in  their 
dealings  in  cotton.  They  are  loyal  to  the  British  gov- 
ernment because,  it  is  claimed,  their  commercial  in- 
terests compel  them  to  uphold  the  government  that 
will  insure  the  continuance  of  their  prosperity.  They 
dress  well,  and  their  women  present  the  most  beautiful 
costumes  to  be  found  in  India.  They  worship  the 
sun,  and  regard  fire,  the  earth,  and  other  natural 
elements  as  sacred.  They  consider  the  dead  body  as 
unclean,  and  so  to  burn  it  would  be  to  pollute  the 
fire,  and  to  bury  it  would  be  to  pollute  the  earth;  so 
they  expose  it  to  be  disposed  of  by  vultures.  I  visited 
the  "Towers  of  Silence"  in  company  with  Rev.  C.  B. 
Hill,  my  host,  who  had  secured  the  permission.  There 
are  five  towers,  one  being  private,  one  for  suicides, 
and  the  other  three  for  the  public.  They  are  cylin- 
drical in  shape,  and  the  largest  is  two  hundred  and 
seventy-six  feet  in  circumference  and  twenty-five  feet 
high.  At  eight  feet  above  the  ground  is  an  aperture 
in  the  wall  about  five  and  one-half  feet  square  through 
which  the  body  is  taken  by  the  carriers,  who  are  born 
to  that  profession.  The  towers  are  within  an  in- 
closure  containing  100,000  square  yards,  which  is  en- 
tered by  a  gateway  at  the  top  of  a  flight  of  eighty 
steps.  At  the  Parsee  funeral  the  bier  is  carried  by 
four  "carriers  of  the  dead,"  followed  by  two  bearded 
men  and  a  large  number  of  Parsee  mourners  in  white 
robes  walking  two  and  two.  Prayer  is  said  at  a  little 
stone  building  by  the  temple  in  which  the  fire  is  ever 

237 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

burning.  The  two  bearded  men  are  the  only  persons 
who  ever  enter  the  tower.  In  the  center  of  the  tower 
is  a  well  four  feet  in  diameter.  The  space  between 
the  well  and  the  outer  wall  of  the  tower  is  divided  into 
three  sections  by  two  circular  walls.  Grooved  iron 
grating  covers  the  space  within  the  tower.  On  the 
grating  over  the  outer  section  of  the  tower  the  bodies 
of  men  are  placed,  over  the  middle  section  the  bodies 
of  women,  and  over  the  inner  the  bodies  of  children. 
The  bearers  leave  the  bodies  unclothed  on  these  sec- 
tions, and  in  less  than  an  hour  the  vultures  leave  noth- 
ing but  the  skeleton,  which  is  left  to  bleach  in  the  sun 
and  the  wind  till  it  becomes  perfectly  dry.  The  fluids 
pass  down  the  grooves  into  the  well,  which  allows  them 
to  flow  through  charcoal  into  the  earth.  The  bones 
under  the  tropical  sun  in  a  few  months  crumble,  and 
the  bodies  pass  into  the  elements  from  which  they 
came.  The  gruesomeness  of  the  burning  ghats  of  the 
Hindus  is  hardly  so  repulsive  as  this  disposal  of  the 
dead  by  the  wealthy  Parsees  through  the  agency  of 
common  vultures  that  blacken  the  trees  of  Malabar 
Hill. 

After  this  contact  with  the  great  flock  of  buzzards, 
I  was  glad  to  get  back  to  our  apartments  and  the 
noisy  clatter  of  the  most  impudent  crows  that  can  be 
found  in  the  world.  Every  city  in  India  is  literally 
alive  with  these  black  chattering  creatures.  They  are 
as  numerous  as  the  English  sparrows  in  our  American 
cities.  As  the  scavengers  of  India  they  perform  a 
most  beneficent  service,  and  without  them  every  city 
would  be  in  grave  danger  of  malignant  diseases,  for 
the  Indians  themselves  are  too  lazy  to  clean  away 
their  filth.     Even  in  the  case  of  plague  and  cholera 

238 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

they  will  not  observe  the  rules  of  the  municipal  boards. 
While  I  was  in  Bombay  the  daily  death  rate  from 
bubonic  plague  was  eighty-six,  which  is  the  lowest 
that  it  has  been  for  several  years.  More  than  5,000,000 
people  have  died  of  plague  in  India  in  the  last  decade. 
The  medical  men  say  that  the  disease  is  propagated 
by  rats  and  fleas.  The  fleas  from  the  dying  rat  find 
a  new  home  on  a  human  being,  and  with  his  bite  he 
transmits  the  plague  germ,  from  which  in  most  cases 
death  ensues.  The  natives  will  not  always  aid  in  ex- 
terminating the  rats,  as  their  religious  regard  for  life, 
through  their  belief  in  the  transmigration  or  reincar- 
nation of  the  soul,  will  prevent  them  from  destroying 
dangerous  vermin.  The  Jains  are  the  wealthy  grain 
dealers  in  Bombay,  and  they  would  by  their  religion 
be  more  apt  to  erect  hospitals  for  the  sick  rats  than 
they  would  be  to  join  in  any  effort  to  exterminate 
them.  The  Europeans  are  a  little  reconciled  to  these 
conditions,  as  the  plague  is  almost  entirely  confined 
to  the  natives. 

Bombay  is  on  an  island  eleven  miles  long  and  three 
to  four  miles  wide,  in  latitude  18  degrees,  53  minutes, 
and  45  seconds.  Its  climate  is  quite  equable,  the  aver- 
age temperature  being  seventy-nine  degrees.  Its  har- 
bor is  one  of  the  best  in  the  East,  and  offers  a  beau- 
tiful scene  as  a  ship  approaches  the  dock.  The  port 
is  crowded  with  the  vessels  of  all  nations,  excepting 
possibly  the  United  States,  which  has  practically  no 
merchant  marine  for  any  waters.  The  Stars  and 
Stripes  are  unknown  in  the  Orient.  The  world  cruise 
of  the  fleet  may  give  other  people  the  opportunity  of 
seeing  the  beauty  of  Old  Glorj-.  No  true  American 
can  be  proud  of  our  lack  of  a  merchant  marine,  which 

239 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

would  mean  as  much  to  us  as  the  most  formidable 
navy.  The  export  trade  of  Bombay  is  the  largest  of 
any  city  in  India.  The  empire  exports  annually  in  tea 
$28,ooo,(XX) ;  in  wheat  and  flour,  $38,000,000;  in  rice, 
$63,000,000;  in  jute,  raw  and  manufactured,  $70,000,- 
000;  in  cotton,  raw  and  manufactured,  $115,000,000. 
From  my  window  in  Bombay  I  could  count  one  hun- 
dred cotton  mills,  while  the  entire  presidency  reports 
about  four  hundred  mills.  India  is  a  great  agricultural 
country,  but  the  people  have  not  accumulated  wealth 
by  their  farms.  Of  the  738,000,000  acres,  fully  one- 
third  are  poorly  cultivated,  while  140,000,000  tillable 
acres  are  unused.  The  natives  are  poor  farmers. 
They  do  no  deep  plowing,  and  they  are  too  afraid  of 
being  made  unclean  if  they  use  fertilizers.  Their 
plows  are  the  old  crooked  beams  that  were  used  a 
thousand  years  ago,  while  the  slow-moving  bullock  is 
the  only  animal  used  on  the  farm.  The  Indians  never 
invent  anything  nor  improve  what  they  have  come  in 
possession  of,  and  consequently  not  only  their  farming 
implements  but  all  their  workmen's  tools  are  as  old  as 
their  traditions.  Lumber  is  sawed  by  two  men,  one 
standing  on  the  log,  which  is  elevated  on  a  frame, 
and  the  other  standing  on  the  ground ;  and  they  pull 
the  saw  back  and  forth  through  the  log.  The  sweeper, 
who  is  the  son  of  an  age-long  line  of  sweepers,  car- 
ries his  bunch  of  bamboo  canes  as  did  his  fathers  be- 
fore him.  The  water  carrier  has  strung  over  his 
shoulder  the  leathern  bag — the  skin  of  a  goat — filled 
with  water,  which  he  pours  from  the  neck  into  a 
basin ;  or  if  he  is  sprinkling,  he  pours  into  his  hand 
and  with  a  swing  sprinkles  on  the  ground.  He  learned 
his  trade  a  thousand  years  ago.     The  barber  stops 

240 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

with  his  customer;  they  both  sit  down  on  the  ground, 
and  the  operation  is  begun  and  painfully  pursued  until 
the  required  amount  of  hair  from  face  and  head  has 
been  annihilated.  When  the  Indian  is  asked  why  he 
does  so  and  so,  he  simply  replies :  "It  is  the  custom." 

The  people  of  India  differ  widely  in  their  intellec- 
tual gifts.  The  people  are  not  from  a  common  ances- 
try, but  from  a  mass  of  tribes,  races,  and  tongues. 
There  are  one  hundred  and  eighty-five  different  lan- 
guages spoken  in  the  empire,  and  sixteen  of  them  by 
more  than  3,000,000  people.  The  Hindi  or  Hindu- 
stani is  spoken  by  97,500,000  people,  the  Bengali  by 
44,000,000,  the  Telugu  by  20,700,000,  the  Marathi  by 
18,200,000,  the  Punjabi  by  17,000,000,  the  Tamil  by 
16,500,000,  the  Rajasthani  by  11,000,000,  the  Kanarese 
by  10,300,000,  the  Guzerati  by  10,000,000.  The  Tamil- 
ese  boast  of  their  literature,  while  the  Bengali  orators 
acquire  a  marvelous  command  of  English  style  as 
speakers.  But  ignorance  and  low  morality  are  inevita- 
ble among  the  lower  castes  and  the  hill  tribes  who 
have  never  had  an  opportunity  for  study.  Of  the 
150,000,000  men  and  boys  in  India,  only  15,000,000, 
or  ten  per  cent,  can  read  and  write.  Of  the  144,000,- 
000  women  and  girls,  only  1,000,000,  or  one  in  144, 
can  read  and  write.  At  present  twenty-two  per  cent 
of  the  boys  of  school-going  age  attend  some  school, 
while  the  percentage  of  girls  is  two  and  one-half. 
The  demand  for  education  is  constantly  increasing, 
and  the  government  is  being  called  on  to  provide 
primary  schools  for  the  people.  Some  fine  colleges 
have  been  established  in  different  cities,  such  as  El- 
phinstone  College,  in  Bombay,  and  Channing  College, 
16  24l' 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

in  Lucknow.  The  government  has  established  five 
universities  at  Calcutta,  Madras,  Bombay,  Allahabad, 
and  Punjab;  but  they  give  no  instruction  and  confer 
degrees  only  on  examination.  The  mission  schools 
that  maintain  a  creditable  course  of  study  have  the 
indorsement  and  the  support  of  the  government.  But 
as  yet  it  could  hardly  be  said  that  India  has  an  edu- 
cational system  such  as  exists  in  America  or  even  in 
Japan.  How  soon  a  demand  for  such  a  system  is 
pressed  upon  the  government,  one  could  scarcely  say, 
but  the  time  is  evidently  approaching. 

While  the  great  majority  of  the  people  of  India  are 
poor  and  ignorant  and  have  little  concern  for  any- 
thing beyond  a  bare  sustenance  of  life,  yet  there  is  a 
great  body  of  men  in  almost  every  community  who 
are  beginning  to  show  the  awakening  of  a  certain 
national  spirit.  Many  of  them  have  been  educated  in 
the  schools  and  colleges  which  the  government  has 
established  and  maintained.  They  read  the  books 
and  newspapers  which  bring  them  the  Western  learn- 
ing and  the  thought  of  the  outside  world.  They  pub- 
lish eight  hundred  papers  in  their  own  languages,  and 
some  of  them  have  a  daily  circulation  of  four  or  five 
thousand.  In  Bengal  there  has  arisen  what  is  called 
the  "Swadeshi"  movement,  which  has  for  its  object 
"the  industrial  regeneration  and  economic  salvation" 
of  India;  and  this  mxovement  has  spread  to  most  of 
the  provinces  of  the  empire.  Its  effort  is  to  arouse 
the  natives  to  inaugurate  and  maintain  enterprises  to 
encourage  other  natives  to  give  support  to  these  native 
enterprises.  The  members  are  called  upon  to  patron- 
ize native  shops  and  buy  native  goods.  There  can  be 
no  doubt  that  there  is  a  political  side  to  the  move- 

242 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

ment.    The  Indians  feel  that  they  should  have  a  great- 
er share  in  their  government  than  they  have  previously 
had.     Their  education  has  been  in  the  line  of  prepa- 
ration for  government  position,  and  consequently  the 
educated  men  have  not  been  turned  to  professional 
lines.    The  new  role  which  Japan  is  now  playing  has 
inspired  the  Indians  to  some  efforts  for  themselves. 
The  Europeans  who  live  in  India  confess  that  a  new 
era  seems  to  be  dawning  and  a  new  national  life  is 
budding.     Certain  officials  view  the  movement  with 
some  alarm,  while  others  are  inclined  to  say  that  no 
good  thing  can  come  out  of  India.     That  the  indus- 
trial, intellectual,  political,  and  even  religious  condi- 
tions in  this  country  will  soon  undergo  some  change, 
there  seems  much  room  for  believing;  but  what  will 
be  the  extent  of  this  change,  no  one  can  now  prophesy. 
Some  of  the  definitions  which  newspapers  have  given 
of  the  Swadeshi  movement  are :  "The  Swadeshi  move- 
ment is  the  awakening  of  a  new  spirit  of  national- 
ism;" "The  Swadeshi  movement  is  the  child  of  dis- 
content of  modern  Indians  under  their  present  state 
of   dependence — a    discontent   perfectly    healthy    and 
legitimate,  and  due  to  causes  which  England  herself 
set  at  work ;"  "The  Swadeshi  movement  is  the  unfor- 
tunate excrescence  of  the  marvelous  growth  of  the 
people  in  the  consciousness  of  their  own  importance 
and   in  their  desire   for  higher   and   better   things." 
These   definitions    from    Hindu,    Mohammedan,    and 
Christian  gentlemen  show  that  a  patriotic  impulse  is 
behind  the  movement,  and  that  a  new  national  con- 
sciousness is  beginning  to  be  developed.     The  world 
will  watch  with  interest  the  development. 

There  are  many  encouraging  features  about  mis- 
243 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

sionary  work  in  India,  and  at  the  same  time  tliere  are 
drawbacks  and  great  obstacles.  The  poverty  and  ig- 
norance of  the  great  masses,  the  caste  system  which 
is  so  tenaciously  held  to  by  the  upper  classes  of  the 
Hindus,  the  seclusion  and  illiteracy  of  the  better  class 
of  women,  the  social  and  religious  pride  of  the  Mo- 
hammedans, the  fearful  intolerance  of  the  wealthy 
Parsees  and  Jains  make  difficulties  for  the  missionary 
which  are  practically  insurmountable.  An  Anglican 
bishop,  in  writing  of  the  work  among  the  higher 
castes,  says:  "I  very  much  doubt  whether  the  average 
for  all  India  would  amount  to  twenty  converts  a  year 
from  this  particular  class  among  all  denominations  of 
the  Christian  Church."  Yet  there  are  3,000,000  na- 
tive Christians  in  India,  of  which  1,250,000  are  Prot- 
estants. The  converts  have  been  made  to  a  very  great 
extent  from  the  lowest  Hindu  classes.  The  statistics 
show  a  remarkable  increase  of  native  Christians  dur- 
ing the  last  decade.  The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
has  now  150,000  communicants  in  India,  and  their 
converts  last  year  numbered  16,000.  Their  work  is 
thoroughly  organized  into  five  Conferences,  and  has 
the  constant  supervision  of  three  resident  bishops 
whose  superintendency  is  of  incalculable  benefit.  The 
American  Presbyterian  Church  is  also  meeting  with 
very  great  success.  The  English  societies  are  making 
very  little  progress.  This  is  due  in  part  to  the  fact 
that  they  have  given  their  attention  almost  wholly  to 
the  higher  castes.  Christianity  has  always  begun  wtih 
the  lowly.  It  was  so  in  the  days  of  Jesus  and  his  apos- 
tles ;  it  was  so  in  Rome ;  it  was  so  with  Methodism 
when  John  Wesley  preached  to  the  miners.  God 
chooses  the  weak  things  of  this  world  to  confound 

244 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

the  wise.  The  caste  of  India  is  to  be  broken  from 
below  as  the  lower  classes  are  Christianized,  educated, 
and  become  the  teachers  of  the  upper  castes.  That 
work  is  already  in  progress.  Methodism  in  India  is 
progressing  on  true  apostolic  lines;  and  if  her  work 
continues  another  half  century  as  it  has  gone  the  last 
ten  years,  India  will  be  a  new  land  and  Christianity 
will  be  the  religion  of  the  people.  Of  course  the 
English  officials  and  the  English  planters  and  mer- 
chants will  speak  slightingly  of  the  work  of  the  mis- 
sionaries because  only  the  lower  classes  are  reached. 
It  is  well  known  that  the  Englishman  in  India  is  more 
often  a  hindrance  than  a  help  to  the  cause  of  Chris- 
tianity. This  is  the  statement  of  an  Englishman :  "The 
political  movements  of  the  last  thirty  years  have  in- 
juriously affected  the  attitude  of  the  educated  classes 
toward  Christianity  by  concentrating  their  thoughts 
and  aspirations  on  political  aims,  and  still  more  by 
widening  the  gulf  between  Indians  and  Europeans. 
It  might  have  been  thought  that  as  English  education 
spread  a  class  would  arise  who  would  become  more 
and  more  in  sympathy  with  their  English  rulers.  Un- 
happily, it  has  not  been  so.  The  educated  in  India 
have  steadily  become  more  critical  of  their  English 
rulers  and  more  distinctly  opposed  to  English  influ- 
ence. And  true  though  it  may  be  that  Christianity  is 
essentially  an  Eastern  religion,  still  to  India  it  comes 
as  the  religion  of  the  West  and  the  religion  of  the 
English  conqueror.  A  growing  opposition,  therefore, 
'to  the  English  government  involves  of  necessity  a 
growing  opposition  to  the  Christian  Church." 

The  colleges  are  not  making  many  converts  to  Chris- 
tianity, and  the  thought  of  the  missionaries  is  now  to 

245 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

make  institutions  to  educate  the  children  of  Christian 
converts  and  to  train  native  evangelists  for  the  great 
work  of  preaching  the  gospel  to  the  people.  One  man 
speaks  of  a  certain  institution  in  Madras  as  "the  finest 
missionary  college  in  India,  with  a  splendid  staff  of 
able  and  devoted  missionaries,"  and  says  the  number 
of  converts  in  the  last  forty  years  has  been  a  mere 
handful.  By  the  education  of  the  children  of  persons 
converted  by  the  evangelists,  the  work  of  the  evangel- 
ist is  conserved  as  Christianity  becomes  a  great  power 
among  the  very  people  who  will  eventually  redeem  In- 
dia. Bishop  Whitehead,  of  ISIadras,  says:  "I  can  see 
no  evidence  of  any  movement  toward  Christianity  in 
the  higher  ranks  of  Hindu  society  at  present,  nor  any 
hope  of  it  in  the  immediate  future.  On  the  contrary, 
the  educated  classes  seem  to  me  farther  off  from  the 
definite  acceptance  of  the  Christian  faith  than  they 
were  when  I  first  came  out  to  India,  twenty-three 
years  ago."  Yet  he  believes  that  the  hope  of  reaching 
the  people  is  through  the  missionary  schools  for  the 
children  of  Christians  and  Christian  dormitories  at 
the  State  schools  as  a  means  of  reaching  the  upper 
classes.  While  the  lower  classes  are  coming  to  Chris- 
tianity by  the  thousands,  it  would  seem  that  there  is 
something  to  be  said  for  the  plan  now  being  discussed. 
But  while  it  is  becoming  more  and  more  certain  that 
the  mission  schools  in  India  must  be  primarily  for  the 
sons  and  daughters  of  men  and  women  who  have 
been  converted  to  Christianity,  yet  the  educational 
work  for  the  high-class  Hindus  and  Mohammedans 
cannot  be  abandoned.  Through  these  institutions, 
usually  of  high  grade,  the  light  of  Christian  truth  is 
being  diffused  through  the  higher  ranks,  and  the  up- 

246 


-ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

per  society  is  being  prepared  for  an  acceptance  of 
Christianity.  The  state  institutions  are  by  their  nature 
unable  to  affect  the  moral  and  religious  life  of  their 
students,  and  the  government  is  feeling  the  need  of 
the  mission  schools  to  assist  in  building  up  a  new 
character  in  the  young  men  who  are  to  enter  the  pub- 
lic service.  So,  on  the  whole,  the  field  of  the  mis- 
sionary in  India  is  gradually  broadening,  and  his  work 
is  deepening.  The  leaven  of  the  gospel  cannot  per- 
meate this  great  lump  in  a  day  or  even  in  a  genera- 
tion, but  there  are  signs  of  promise  in  the  national 
sky,  and  this  kingdom  will  yet  become  a  kingdom  of 
our  God  and  his  Christ.  This  is  no  time  for  retreat, 
but  for  reenforcements,  and  they  so  numerous  that 
India  may  feel  the  tread  of  the  hosts  of  the  Lord. 

247 


CHAPTER  XVir. 
Coming  Up  into  Egypt. 

THREE  thousand  sea  miles  is  the  distance  from 
Bombay  to  Port  Said.  As  the  distance  by  land 
miles  would  be  fifteen  per  cent  more,  the  distance  for 
a  railway  train  would  be  three  thousand  four  hundred 
and  fifty  miles.  We  wished  often  for  a  train,  as  the 
steamers  on  any  other  sea  than  the  Atlantic  Ocean 
seldom  make  more  than  fifteen  miles  or  knots  an  hour, 
while  the  usual  fast  train  makes  twice  that  distance. 
On  the  Atlantic,  where  the  competition  is  so  great, 
and  where  the  demand  for  rapid  travel  is  so  urgent, 
the  ships  have  been  built  with  special  regard  to  speed ; 
and  consequently  the  large  steamers  make  twenty-two 
to  twenty-five  knots  an  hour  in  their  sail  between  Euro- 
pean and  American  ports.  In  the  Eastern  waters  time 
is  not  such  an  important  element,  as  the  pace  of  the 
Orient  could  hardy  be  called  strenuous. 

Our  steamer,  the  Koerber,  was  quite  comfortable, 
and  was  the  most  steady  boat  on  which  we  have  had 
passage  during  our  entire  trip.  While  the  company 
owning  the  ship  is  Austrian,  the  crew  was  Italian. 
The  language  gave  us  no  trouble,  as  we  made  no  effort 
to  understand  it,  but  insisted  on  every  one  speaking 
and  understanding  English.  The  peculiarity  of  the 
American — and  for  the  most  part  the  Englishman — is 
that  he  seldom  learns  any  language  but  his  own  unless 
it  is  that  of  some  foreign  country  in  which  he  lives. 
I  did  not  find  a  German  anywhere  in  the  East  that 

248 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

could  not  speak  some  English  and  usually  some  other 
European  language  besides  his  own.  The  same  was 
true  of  the  Italian,  the  Frenchman,  the  Russian,  while 
the  Austrian  and  the  Pole  spoke  three  to  four  lan- 
guages freely.  The  American  and  the  Englishman 
require  other  nationalities  to  address  them  in  the  Eng- 
lish language,  whatever  may  be  the  country  in  which 
they  travel.  There  may  be  an  explanation  for  this  con- 
dition, but  the  reader  is  left  to  his  own. 

We  had  on  board  a  large  number  of  English  exiles 
who  were  returning  to  their  native  land.  Of  course  I 
do  not  mean  that  any  of  our  passengers  had  been  serv- 
ing sentences  for  some  misdemeanors ;  but  if  living  in 
India  for  mone)'^  or  for  political  honor  is  not  suffering 
exile,  I  mistook  the  implications  of  these  Britishers 
who  were  on  their  "way  home"  for  a  year's  furlough. 
Some  of  them  were  tea  planters,  some  civil  officers, 
some  wives  of  officials;  but  the  large  proportion  of 
them  were  military  gentlemen  who  are  sacrificing  their 
lives  for  what  they  evidently  think  is  the  salvation  of 
India.  In  the  company  were  a  major  general,  several 
captains,  and  so  many  colonels  that  I  would  have 
thought  that  I  was  in  dear  old  Kentucky  had  those 
Englishmen  not  spoken  their  own  language  with  what 
people  once  called  a  "brogue,"  but  which  is  now  po- 
litely referred  to  as  an  "accent."  It  is  indeed  strange 
how  the  pronunciation  of  the  language  by  the  English 
has  become  corrupted  since  the  Americans  separated 
from  them.  The  majority  of  the  army  officers  see 
very  little  good  in  the  Indians.  One  man  expressed 
it  as  his  opinion  that  England  was  very  short-sighted 
in  taking  India  when  she  might  have  taken  China  just 
as  well,  and  consequently  would  now  have  a  country 

249 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

that  is  worth  owning.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that 
many  of  these  officers  consider  the  day  of  England's 
full  occupation  of  Tibet  as  close  at  hand,  while  her 
present  operations  on  the  borders  of  Afghanistan  with 
the  rebellious  Mohammedan  tribes  may  precipitate  a 
campaign  that  will  involve  the  territory  in  that  dis- 
trict. England  is  approaching  the  heart  of  Asia  from 
the  south. 

Our  good  steamer  reached  Aden  after  a  five  days' 
delightful  voyage  across  the  Arabian  Sea.  Those  wa- 
ters are  seldom  rough  except  during  the  monsoons  in 
June  and  July,  and  then  the  fury  of  the  waves  is  ex- 
hausting on  the  best  sailors.  Of  course  Aden  belongs 
to  the  English.  We  landed  in  Shanghai  on  the  Eng- 
lish concession ;  we  went  ashore  at  Hongkong,  a  Brit- 
ish colony;  we  stopped  over  at  Singapore,  a  British 
possession;  we  visited  Penang,  a  British  settlement; 
we  spent  a  few  days  in  Burma,  a  British  province; 
we  traveled  a  month  in  India,  the  British  Empire.  Of 
course  Aden  belongs  to  the  English,  and  its  barren 
crags  are  covered  by  British  fortifications,  while  the 
most  prominent  section  of  the  town  is  occupied  by  the 
barracks,  the  home  of  the  British  soldiers.  But  what 
shall  I  say  of  Aden?  What  could  any  one  say  who 
wanted  to  be  polite  and  at  the  same  time  truthful? 
It  is  said  that  Lord  Curzon  while  Viceroy  in  India 
had  a  regiment  of  rebellious  troops  that  he  wanted  to 
punish,  so  he  stationed  them  at  Aden  for  two  years. 
The  only  point  of  interest  in  Aden  is  the  Tanks  which 
were  built  by  King  Darius,  and  which  were  discovered 
a  few  years  ago  by  some  laborers  who  were  digging 
a  trench.  But  the  Tanks  have  no  use,  although  they 
have  been  put  in  good  repair ;  for  they  have  been  filled 

250 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

only  three  times  in  ten  years.  The  annual  rainfall  in 
Aden  is  only  three-fourths  of  an  inch.  But  Aden  has 
an  excellent  harbor,  and  its  position  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Red  Sea  gives  it  a  place  as  prominent,  if  not  as 
important,  as  the  Straits  of  Gibraltar.  One  caterer, 
realizing  the  importance  of  his  city,  named  his  hostelry 
the  "Hotel  of  the  Universe."  If  we  may  judge  from 
the  number  of  ostrich  feathers  which  are  sold  by  the 
native  venders  to  the  passengers  on  board  the  steamer, 
Aden  must  have  the  most  productive  ostrich  farm  in 
the  world.  On  close  inspection,  however,  some  pur- 
chasers found  that  their  articles  bore  the  stamp: 
"Made  in  Germany."  But  the  great  reduction  which 
the  venders  make  in  their  prices  gives  the  purchaser 
the  impression  that  he  or  she  has  made  a  great  bar- 
gain, and  the  illusion  seldom  disappears  until  after 
the  steamer  sails. 

The  Red  Sea  is  not  red,  but  as  blue  as  the  ocean 
and  sometimes  as  rough.  We  were  fortunate  in  get- 
ting enough  breeze  to  keep  us  comfortable,  and  not 
enough  to  disturb  the  motion  of  the  ship.  We  were 
frequently  in  sight  of  land — which  by  its  color  likely 
gave  the  name  to  the  sea — while  other  travelers  of 
the  deep  were  often  on  our  horizon.  The  sunsets  were 
glorious.  On  the  morning  of  the  last  day  we  passed 
Mt.  Sinai,  where  Moses  received  the  great  command- 
ments from  God.  Just  as  the  day  was  dying  in  the 
west  we  crossed  the  pathway  of  the  Israelitish  hosts 
as  they  fled  through  the  miraculously  opened  sea  from 
their  hostile  Egyptian  pursuers,  and  we  came  to  anchor 
at  Suez  while  the  western  sky  was  ablaze  and  the  wa- 
ters of  the  harbor  smiled  in  their  beauty.  We  entered 
the  Suez  Canal  by  moonlight,  and  lingered  long  enough 

251 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

on  deck  to  see  something  of  the  great  work  of  the 
distinguished  French  engineer.  The  morning  found 
us  more  than  half  through  the  eighty-two  miles  of  the 
canal,  and  our  eyes  rested  upon  the  great  deserts 
which  stretch  out  on  each  side.  We  anchored  once 
for  four  large  ships  to  pass  us.  The  channel  is  not  wide 
enough  for  ships  to  pass  each  other  except  at  these  sta- 
tions. At  ten  o'clock  we  were  in  Port  Said,  and  at  five 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon  we  were  in  Cairo,  the  gay  capi- 
tal on  the  Nile. 

The  change  from  the  depressing  conditions  of  the 
Far  East  to  the  dazzling  scenes  of  Egypt's  great  city 
was  so  great  as  almost  to  produce  a  shock.  At  first 
there  was  the  feeling  that  we  had  returned  to  civiliza- 
tion, but  as  the  days  wore  on  there  was  some  question 
as  to  the  genuine  worth  of  what  we  beheld.  The  glitter- 
ing is  not  always  golden.  As  far  as  the  social  world  is 
concerned,  Cairo  is  a  second  Paris.  A  half  dozen  of  its 
hotels  are  without  superiors  in  the  great  resorts  of  the 
world.  During  the  season,  which  extends  from  Decem- 
ber I  to  May  I,  Cairo  is  filled  with  the  rich  and  aristo- 
cratic members  of  society  of  Europe  and  America.  The 
prices  for  services  of  all  kinds  and  for  the  articles  in 
the  shops  are  exceedingly  exorbitant.  The  slightest 
service,  even  to  the  word  of  direction  in  the  streets, 
calls  for  a  fee;  and  every  native  who  can  speak  fifty 
words  of  English  will  oflfer  himself  as  a  dragoman  (a 
guide)  at  twelve  to  thirty  shillings  a  day.  The  past 
season  has  been  very  poor,  as  the  financial  stringency 
in  America  and  Europe  greatly  reduced  the  amount  of 
travel.     However,  we  found  a  guide  at  the  pyramids 

252 


CLIMBING  THE  GREAT  PYRAMID. 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

that  made  $1,750,  notwithstanding  the  dullness  of  the 
season. 

Speaking  of  the  pyramids  recalls  our  visit  on  Tues- 
day afternoon  and  the  rich  golden  sunset  which  left 
a  glow  in  our  hearts  like  the  gorgeous  tints  in  the 
sky.  Many  things  have  been  written  of  the  Great 
Pyramid,  which  is  451  feet  high,  755  feet  long  on 
each  of  the  four  sides,  and  which  covers  an  area  of 
thirteen  acres,  and  most  of  them  are  true,  at  least  for 
the  writers.  But  the  old  pile  of  Cheops,  upon  which 
have  fallen  the  favor  and  the  fury  of  more  than  thirty 
centuries,  must  be  seen  to  be  appreciated.  It  is  rough, 
and  its  great  stones,  instead  of  standing  out  sharp, 
have  crumbled  sufficiently  to  show  the  marks  of  their 
extreme  age.  I  might  have  been  pushed  up  by  three 
Arabs  over  the  jagged  stones  of  the  jutting  corner 
to  the  summit,  where  I  would  have  trembled  with 
fatigue  and  dizziness  from  the  extreme  height ;  but  for 
such  an  experience  I  had  no  desire.  From  the  sum- 
mit, a  few  feet  square,  those  who  are  able  to  com- 
mand their  powers  will  have  a  fine  view  of  Cairo  and 
the  surrounding  country.  The  interior  of  the  pyramid 
contains  several  dark  chambers  which  formerly  held 
the  bodies  of  the  king  and  members  of  his  domestic  or 
political  household.  The  gigantic  pyramid  is  a  great 
tomb,  undoubtedly,  as  is  the  smaller  pyramid  that 
stands  by  its  side  and  the  numerous  pyramids  which 
may  be  seen  in  the  Valley  of  the  Nile  near  the  old 
capital  of  the  Pharaohs. 

Is  the  Sphinx  a  colossal  image  of  the  Egyptian 
deity  Harmachis,  the  god  of  the  morning?  The 
archaeological  students  seem  to  think  so;  but  if  so, 
beauty  was  not  counted  essential  to  a  deity  in  those 

253     . 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

days.  The  image  was  hewn  out  of  the  rock  cliff  which 
juts  out  here  from  the  desert  plateau,  and  the  various 
strata  are  seen  in  the  neck  and  the  head.  As  the  body, 
which  is  140  feet  long,  and  the  paws  which  are  at  the 
base  of  the  figure,  which  is  70  feet  high,  are  hid  in 
the  sand,  I  could  make  no  observation.  As  the  sand 
of  the  desert  is  continually  drifting,  the  work  of  ex- 
cavation would  be  scarcely  worth  while.  The  pyra- 
mids and  the  Sphinx  are  on  a  barren  hill  in  the  midst 
of  a  great  plain  stretching  in  every  direction.  They 
have  no  beauty  or  comeliness ;  they  express  no  archi- 
tectural design ;  but  they  betoken  the  mystery  of  life 
and  man's  eternal  peering  into  the  distance  to  find  its 
meaning,  and  at  the  same  time  his  insatiable  thirst  for 
his  own  immortality,  even  if  only  by  a  monument  of 
stone.  In  the  one  man  has  said,  "What  is  the  mean- 
ing of  it  all?"  and  in  the  other,  "I  will  to  live  for- 
ever." Is  it  any  wonder  that  the  archaeologist  who 
declared  that  the  pyramid  was  a  tomb  was  equally 
confident  that  a  temple  would  be  found  in  the  neigh- 
borhood? After  a  little  excavating  the  temple  was 
found  as  predicted;  and  its  great  granite  columns,  its 
superb  chambers  and  alabaster  floors  are  objects  of 
admiration  to  every  visitor  to  the  pyramids  of  Gizeh. 
The  man  who  seeks  the  meaning  of  life  and  follows 
the  natural  desire  for  immortality  is  sure  to  express 
his  feelings  in  acts  of  worship. 

Some  one  said  that  he  would  not  go  to  the  pyramids 
— which  are  six  or  eight  miles  from  the  city — on  an 
electric  car,  as  the  ride  on  the  car  would  take  away  the 
sentiment  of  the  trip.  Well,  we  went  on  the  electric 
car,  and  were  g.ad  to  do  so,  and  were  delivered  in 
good  sentimental   condition  only  two  hundred  yards 

254 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

from  the  base  of  the  Great  Pyramid.  We  could  have 
done  the  rest  on  foot,  but  the  novelty  and  experience 
of  a  camel  ride  on  the  plains  of  Egypt  are  worth 
something.  So  we  had  those  great  beasts  of  burden 
kneel  at  our  sides,  receive  us,  arise,  and  proceed  on 
the  way.  The  lunging  of  a  rising  or  kneeling  camel 
sometimes  tries  many  muscles  of  the  rider,  while  the 
motion  of  this  "ship  of  the  desert"  sometimes  causes 
a  rebellion  like  unto  that  known  best  at  sea. 

The  most  interesting  person  that  I  saw  in  Cairo 
was  Rameses  II.,  the  Pharaoh  of  the  Oppression.  It 
was  really  next  to  seeing  Moses.  The  old  monarch 
little  thought  that  after  thirty-three  hundred  years  he 
would  lie  a  mummy  in  a  great  museum  and  be  looked 
upon  by  the  thousands  who  know  his  deeds  and  hold 
him  in  remembrance  because  of  his  connection  with 
God's  chosen  people,  whom  he  oppressed.  But  Ram- 
eses was  a  great  ruler,  and  some  of  the  most  magnifi- 
cent relics  of  the  Egyptian  civilization  were  the  works 
of  his  reign.  Near  the  sarcophagus  which  contained 
the  mummy  of  Rameses  was  one  which  contained  the 
mummy  of  Meneptah,  who  was  the  Pharaoh  when  the 
Egyptian  host  that  was  following  the  Israelites  was 
destroyed  in  the  Red  Sea.  For  many  years  it  was  be- 
lieved and  taught  that  that  Pharaoh  was  drowned 
with  his  army,  although  there  is  no  statement  in  the 
fifteenth  chapter  of  Exodus  to  that  effect.  The  schol- 
ars say  that  the  mummy  which  I  saw  in  the  Museum 
of  Antiquities  is  the  mummy  of  the  Pharaoh  of  the 
Exodus,  and  I  am  in  no  position  to  deny  their  con- 
tention. 

The  Museum  of  Egyptian  Antiquities  was  formerly 
in  the  old  Gizeh  Palace ;  but  it  has  been  removed  to 

255 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

the  new  building  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Nile,  which 
was  completed  in  1902  at  a  cost  of  $1,000,000.  The 
priceless  collection  here  will  aid  any  student  to  some 
appreciation  of  the  great  people  Avho  lived  in  Egypt 
2,500  to  4,000  years  ago.  Their  superb  pieces  of  stat- 
uary, their  magnificent  architecture,  and  their  superior 
masonry  offer  a  severe  rebuff  to  the  conceit  of  many 
peoples  of  this  showy  age.  A  traveler  in  Egypt  to- 
day continually  asks  to  be  taken  from  the  glitter  of 
the  Khedive  to  the  gold  of  the  Pharaoh.  The  Caliphs, 
the  Mamelukes,  the  Ottomans,  and  the  Khedives  may 
have  been  not  without  honor,  but  the  glory  of  Egypt 
belongs  to  the  ages  that  preceded  them.  It  is  true  that 
the  tombs  of  the  Caliphs  and  the  tombs  of  the  Mame- 
lukes furnish  some  very  fine  specimens  of  Saracenic 
architecture,  although  they  are  for  the  most  part  in 
ruins.  A  visit  to  them  is  exceedingly  interesting,  but 
not  so  much  so  as  a  visit  to  the  Citadel,  the  great 
Cairene  Acropolis,  with  its  mosques,  palace,  prison, 
barracks,  and  arsenal.  The  Citadel  is  filled  with  sev- 
eral regiments  of  British  soldiers.  England  is  the 
guardian  of  Egypt  also,  and  receives  good  fees  for  her 
service.  It  is  here  that  we  find  the  beautiful  Alabaster 
Mosque,  which  bears  the  name  of  Mehemet  Ali,  the 
builder.  Its  proportions  are  imposing,  the  decorations 
of  the  interior  are  rich,  while  in  architectural  design 
it  is  the  copy  of  the  great  Church  of  St.  Sophia  at 
Constantinople.  The  tomb  of  Mehemet  Ali  is  in  the 
southwest  corner.  The  two  tall,  slender  minarets  are 
lofty  and  elegant.  Behind  the  church  is  shown  the 
wall  from  which  Emil  Bey  rushed  his  horse  when  he 
made  his  escape  when  Ali  massacred  the  Mamelukes. 
From  this  spot  one  may  secure  a  very  fine  view  of 
'  256 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

the  city,  with  its  five  hundred  mosques,  its  numerous 
cotton  mills,  its  beautiful  parks,  and  its  great  business 
houses. 

Did  I  find  the  place  where  Pharaoh's  daughter  found 
little  Moses  in  his  little  craft  on  the  Nile?  The  guide 
was  quite  confident  that  he  was  pointing  out  the  place 
in  the  rear  of  the  palace  on  Roda  Island.  The  keeper 
of  the  old  Coptic  Church  showed  me  the  spot  where 
Joseph  and  Mary  rested  when  they  stopped  in  their 
flight  from  Herod.  While  I  had  no  feeling  of  mathe- 
matical certainty  about  the  place,  yet  there  was  a  de- 
vout sensation  at  the  recital  of  this  sacred  tradition. 
It  is  in  this  neighborhood  that  one  may  see  old  Cairo, 
with  its  streets  so  narrow  that  neighbors  may  touch 
each  other  from  the  upper  windows.  The  ancient 
odor,  the  congregation  of  men  in  the  streets,  the  cry 
for  backsheesh  on  every  hand,  the  fellowship  of  dogs 
and  goats,  fleas  and  flies  all  satisfied  me  that  I  had 
reached  the  old  city  and  that  the  modern  Paris  was 
several  miles  away.  Speaking  of  flies  leads  me  to 
say  that  the  flies  of  Cairo  are  the  most  numerous,  the 
most  friendly,  and  the  most  attentive  of  any  that  I 
have  ever  seen.  The  men  in  the  street  carry  fly 
brushes  made  of  hair  and  fine  fiber.  But  the  fly  and 
the  crow  are  the  city's  scavengers. 

But  it  is  not  in  my  mind  to  write  any  more  of  Cairo, 
as  its  great  relics,  its  historical  associations,  its  modern 
gayety,  its  Mohammedan  government  and  British  pro- 
tectorate, its  new  system  of  irrigation,  its  growing 
school  system  are  all  more  or  less  known  to  the  read- 
ers of  this  day.  After  a  visit  to  India  much  that  one 
sees  in  Egypt  is  not  strange.  However,  here  one  sees 
Moslemism  in  the  ascendancy,  and  its  assertive  pride 
17  257 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

and  religious  fanaticism  are  quite  distasteful  to  an 
American  Protestant.  Of  ancient  Egypt  one  cannot 
learn  enough,  while  of  modern  Egypt  one  with  quiet 
habits  may  soon  grow  weary.  The  city  that  tourists 
see  most  is  a  vanity  fair.  The  sidewalks  of  many 
streets  are  so  filled  with  tables  about  which  those  who 
eat  and  drink  make  merry  that  travelers  must  walk  in 
the  streets.  The  vender  of  all  sorts  of  wares,  fabrics, 
and  confectioneries,  the  juggler  with  all  manner  of 
tricks,  the  wandering  musicians  with  all  classes  of  in- 
struments pass  from  table  to  table,  from  company  to 
company,  from  street  to  street,  trying  to  secure  sale 
of  their  goods  and  service.  Life  in  Cairo,  as  it  is  in 
all  cities  which  become  resorts,  is  subject  to  many 
perils.  Cairo  is  a  beautiful  city  with  a  million  inhab- 
itants; but  the  glory  of  Egypt  is  in  her  great  fields 
along  the  Nile,  while  her  crown  is  in  the  works  of 
the  great  people  who  built  Luxor,  Thebes,  Memphis, 
and  left  the  marks  of  a  high  civilization. 

258 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 
Going  Up  to  Jerusalem. 

TRAVEL  in  Egypt  is  so  fearfully  expensive  that 
this  wanderer  was  glad  when  the  Friday  came 
on  which  he  was  to  start  to  Palestine.  The  train  left 
Cairo  at  eleven  o'clock.  At  three-thirty  we  were  in 
Port  Said,  and  at  six  we  were  setting  sail  in  a  small 
Russian  steamer  for  Jaffa.  To  our  joy,  twenty-five 
of  the  passengers  were  Americans,  most  of  whom 
were  teachers  in  the  Philippine  Islands,  who  were  on 
their  way  to  America,  and  who  had  stopped  over  at 
Port  Said  to  visit  Jerusalem  and  Cairo.  The  "Amer- 
ican" language  resounded  through  that  steamer  that 
night.  At  six  o'clock  the  next  morning  we  awoke  to 
find  our  ship  anchored  in  the  waters  which  Jonah 
made  famous  when  he  took  the  ship  to  Tarshish.  The 
Turkish  medical  officials  delayed  us  five  hours  in  land- 
ing by  their  slow  action  in  carrying  out  the  quaran- 
tine regulations.  They  took  backsheesh  too,  as  do  all 
Turkish  officials  on  all  occasions  and  in  all  places. 
Backsheesh  is  the  only  passport  which  will  admit  tour- 
ists without  question  to  any  place  of  interest  in  the 
Sultan's  domain.  We  were  glad  to  pass  through  the 
dangerous  reefs  in  the  Joppa  harbor  and  to  get  safely 
through  the  customhouse  to  the  hotel  for  a  greatly 
delayed  breakfast.  At  two  o'clock  we  were  on  the 
train  with  tickets  reading:  "Joppa  to  Jerusalem." 
What  sensations  those  tickets  awoke !  Joppa,  where 
Solomon  received  his  cedar  from  Tyre  which  he  used 

259 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

in  building  the  temple !  Joppa,  where  Peter  had  that 
wonderful  vision  in  which  he  heard  a  voice  saying: 
"What  God  hath  cleansed,  that  call  not  thou  com- 
mon!" I  saw  the  reputed  spot  on  which  the  house 
of  Simon  the  tanner  stood,  where  Cornelius  found 
Peter.  It  was  in  Joppa  that  Dorcas  lived  and  died. 
They  showed  me  the  traditional  spot  of  that  upper 
chamber  where  Peter  called  this  holy  woman  back  to 
life,  and  the  tomb  in  which  her  body  was  eventually 
laid.  One  may  be  skeptical  as  to  identical  spots,  but 
that  it  was  in  the  ancient  city  which  occupied  the  same 
position  as  the  present  busy  seaport  that  these  early 
disciples  lived  and  labored  there  can  be  no  question. 
At  last  the  hopes  of  the  years  had  been  realized,  and 
I  was  treading  upon  the  holy  soil  made  sacred  by 
those  who  knew  the  Lord. 

Jaffa  (the  modern  name  of  the  ancient  city)  is  by 
no  means  without  interest.  Its  dirty  streets  and 
dwarfed  market  places,  its  small  buildings  and  poorly 
kept  public  institutions  do  not  indicate  that  no  busi- 
ness is  transacted  and  that  commerce  is  dead,  but  only 
tliat  Jaffa  is  a  city  of  the  Orient.  The  business  man  is 
there,  and  he  knows  how  to  make  a  bargain,  as  a  little 
testing  will  show.  He  does  not  trade  like  an  Ameri- 
can, but  he  knows  all  the  tricks  of  the  Eastern  trades- 
man. The  great  camel  trains  bring  here  from  the 
country  and  the  interior  great  quantities  of  produce 
for  the  foreign  market.  Oranges,  lemons,  olive  oil, 
wine,  and  wool  are  brought  here  for  shipment  to  Eu- 
rope ;  while  the  imports  of  cotton  goods,  cloth,  coffee, 
rice,  sugar,  and  tobacco  make  their  entrance  through 
the  Jaffa  port.  About  six  hundred  steamers  and  more 
than  a  thousand  sailing  vessels  call   at  Jaffa  every 

260 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

year.  Damascus  only  surpasses  this  city  by  the  sea 
as  a  business  point  in  Syria.  The  45,000  inhabitants 
— of  whom  30,000  are  Moslems,  10,000  are  Christians, 
4,000  are  Jews — live  as  comfortably  as  any  people  in 
that  country. 

The  suburbs  of  the  city  and  the  whole  surrounding 
country  are  covered  with  orange  groves  which  yield 
a  yearly  income  of  a  quarter  to  a  half  million  dollars. 
The  Jaffa  oranges  are  noted  for  their  richness,  juici- 
ness, and  delicacy  of  flavor.  The  apricot  orchards  are 
not  much  less  numerous,  while  the  pomegranate,  the 
lemon,  the  date,  and  the  olive  are  extensively  grown. 
I  ate  the  fruit  of  the  sycamore  tree,  and  liked  it.  It  re- 
minds one  somewhat  of  the  haw,  although  it  is  much 
larger  and  more  juicy.  The  tree  is  quite  different  from 
the  tree  of  the  same  name  in  our  country.  The  fruit 
is  very  highly  prized  by  the  people.  A  drive  through 
the  Jaffa  of  to-day  in  the  month  of  May  will  give  any 
visitor  a  most  favorable  impression  of  the  fertility  of 
the  soil  of  that  section,  the  richness  of  the  products 
which  are  grown,  and  the  industry  of  the  people  who 
inhabit  the  country. 

The  distance  from  Jaffa  to  Jerusalem  is  fifty-three 
miles  by  the  railroad,  and  the  cost  of  a  ticket  is  three 
dollars  first-class  or  one  dollar  second-class.  The  best 
is  not  good,  and  the  next  best  is  fearfully  uncomforta- 
ble. The  schedule  time  for  the  journey  is  three  and  a 
half  hours,  but  the  proverbial  indifference  to  time 
among  Orientals  is  frequently  fully  exemplified  in  the 
Palestine  railroad  officials.  However,  a  slow  train  is 
best  for  sight-seeing,  and  sight-seeing  was  our  busi- 
ness that  day.  So  while  our  little  locomotive  tugged 
away,  pulling  us  across  valleys  and  over  mountains, 

261 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

our  guides  pointed  out  to  us  the  places  of  interest  as 
we  passed  them.  Our  hearts  leaped  with  sensations  of 
delight  as  we  broke  from  among  the  orange  groves  of 
Jaffa  into  the  broad  fields  of  the  beautiful  Valley  of 
Sharon.  Of  course  the  first  thing  we  asked  to  see  was 
the  "rose  of  Sharon."  Our  guides  were  very  accom- 
modating, and  pointed  out  this  choice  flower;  but  un- 
fortunately they  disagreed  in  their  selection,  just  as 
others  had  done  before  them.  However,  the  beautiful 
red  flower  resembling  the  poppy  is  most  commonly 
known  as  the  rose  of  Sharon.  Those  who  know  best 
the  flora  of  the  country  are  slow  to  say  what  the  rose 
of  Sharon  is  or  was.  But  there  could  be  no  question 
as  to  what  the  guide  meant  when  he  said  that  the  great 
field  of  grain  was  "corn."  The  Englishman  who  was 
in  the  party  insisted  that  is  was  corn,  but  the  Amer- 
icans knew  that  it  was  wheat.  The  graih  that  the 
American  calls  "corn"  is  known  as  "maize"  by  ev- 
ery other  people,  while  the  word  "corn"  is  used  by 
Easterners  to  designate  all  small  grain.  As  the  train 
sped  on  we  passed  not  only  fields  of  wheat  but  patches 
of  potatoes,  tomatoes,  tobacco,  cotton,  beans,  peas,  on- 
ions, cucumbers,  and  other  vegetables  known  in  our 
own  land.  The  growth  everywhere  seemed  such  as  only 
good,  fertile  soil  would  produce.  The  fig  trees,  the  olive 
trees,  and  the  grapevines  were  abundant  and  showed 
promise  of  a  good  yield.  One  is  always  surprised  in  a 
strange  country  to  find  so  many  things  like  those  he 
has  always  known  in  his  own  land.  The  similarities 
invariably  attract  his  notice  before  the  differences.  So 
the  vegetables,  fruits,  grains,  flowers,  birds,  and  the 
animals  of  Palestine  surprised  me  by  being  so  similar 
to  what  I  had  so  often  seen  in  the  various  parts  of  our 

262 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

great  country.  The  fact  is,  "seeing  the  country"  of 
this  old  world  is  rather  monotonous  business.  The 
human  footprints  only  can  give  glory  to  any  land  and 
add  any  peculiar  interest  to  the  products  of  any  soil. 
The  Valley  of  Sharon  is  no  more  beautiful  and  no 
more  fertile  than  many  another  valley,  but  the  Philis- 
tines and  the  Israelites  in  their  age-long  contests  for 
control  of  it  gave  it  a  value  above  the  measure  of  any 
nation's  currency.  The  Man  of  Galilee  and  his  for- 
bears have  attached  an  interest  to  the  wheat  fields  of 
Palestine  which  belongs  to  no  other  land.  The  Holy 
Land  is  holy  not  because  of  the  strangeness  of  its 
products,  but  because  of  the  revelations  which  have 
come  to  the  world  through  its  people. 

We  had  gone  only  a  short  distance  when  we  were 
awakened  from  our  meditations  as  the  guide  said: 
"Here  on  the  right  is  the  traditional  place  where  Sam- 
son let  loose  the  three  hundred  foxes  with  firebrands 
tied  to  their  tails  in  the  standing  corn  of  the  Philis- 
tines." From  this  place,  as  we  looked  to  the  south,  we 
saw  the  great  fertile  plain  that  stretched  to  Ekron, 
Ashkelon,  and  Gaza  and  the  cities  of  the  stubborn  en- 
emies of  the  Israelites.  The  shrill  whistle  of  the  en- 
gine pierced  the  air,  the  train  came  to  a  standstill,  and 
the  guard  called  out :  "Ludd."  Ezra  called  it  Lod,  and 
the  disciples  knew  it  as  Lydda.  Peter  "came  down  to 
the  saints  which  dwelt  at  Lydda,"  healed  ^neas  of  the 
palsy,  and  went  from  there  to  Joppa  and  raised  Dorcas 
from  the  dead.  According  to  tradition,  St.  George, 
who  slew  the  dragon,  is  buried  here,  and  the  Mo- 
hammedans hold  that  their  prophet  taught  that  Christ 
will  at  the  last  day  slay  the  Antichrist  at  the  gate  of 
Lydda.     Another  two  miles  brought  us  to  Ramleh,  a 

263 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

town  of  7,(X)0  inhabitants,  which  is  supposed  to  be 
the  site  of  Arimathea,  the  home  of  Joseph,  the  rich 
man  who  gave  the  body  of  the  crucified  Jesus  its 
resting  place.  The  tradition,  however,  dates  back 
only  to  the  thirteenth  century.  Napoleon  once  had 
his  headquarters  here.  The  most  interesting  and  re- 
markable object*  in  the  place  is  the  old  tower,  which 
probably  dates  back  to  the  time  of  the  Crusaders.  The 
town  bears  to-day  no  evidences  of  its  former  glory, 
while  its  wretchedness  is  extreme. 

Leaving  Ramleh,  after  a  distance  of  two  miles  we 
came  to  Gezer,  the  town  which  Pharaoh  burned,  and 
which  Solomon  rebuilt  after  his  royal  father-in-law 
had  slain  the  Canaanites  and  presented  it  to  his  daugh- 
ter, Solomon's  wife.  The  excavations  by  the  Pales- 
tine Exploration  Fund  Society  have  brought  to  light 
cave  dwellings  with  flint  implements,  numerous  Egyp- 
tian seals,  and  articles  of  jewelry  which  belonged  to 
the  twentieth  century  before  the  Christian  era.  The 
periods  of  the  Canaanites  and  of  the  Jewish  city  were 
clearly  distinguishable.  A  little  to  the  west  of  Gezer 
lies  Akir,  now  a  Jewish  colony  of  Rothschild,  but  for- 
merly the  site  of  the  ancient  Ekron.  Here  we  left 
the  plains  and  began  to  come  upon  the  great  plateau 
known  as  the  Shephelah,  or  low  hills,  where  the  land 
was  less  fertile  and  the  crops  less  numerous.  As  we 
approached  the  moimtain  range,  on  a  high  hill  on  the 
south  were  shown  the  ruins  of  ancient  Beth-shemesh, 
while  on  an  opposite  hill  across  a  deep  ravine  was 
Zorah,  the  boyhood  home  of  Samson.  The  cave- "in 
the  top  of  the  rock  Etam,"  where  Samson  hid  himself, 
was  pointed  out.  The  thirteenth  to  the  sixteenth  chap- 
ters of  the  book  of  Judges  were  read  with  peculiar  in- 

264 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

terest  after  passing  through  this  country,  and  the 
rugged  character  of  the  mighty  Samson  was  better 
understood  after  seeing  his  mountain  home. 

No  railroad  in  the  world  passes  through  a  more  in- 
teresting country  than  the  short  line  from  Jaffa  to 
Jerusalem.  After  crossing  the  Valley  of  Sharon  and 
passing  through  the  sand  hills  of  Ekron,  it  runs  up 
the  Vale  of  Sorek — or  the  Wady  es  Surar,  as  it  is 
now  called — and  its  defile  through  the  Judean  range 
on  to  the  plain  southwest  of  Jerusalem,  which  the 
best  authorities  say  probably  represents  the  Vale  of 
Rephaim,  which  was  the  boundary  between  Judah  and 
Benjamin.  It  was  in  this  valley  that  the  Israelites 
and  the  Philistines  had  their  great  struggles,  for  it 
was  by  this  pass  that  the  archenemies  of  the  chosen 
people  always  endeavored  to  reach  Jerusalem.  There 
was  no  shorter  road  into  Judea  from  Ekron,  Jamnia, 
and  Ashdod.  After  the  ark  had  given  trouble  to  Ash- 
dod,  Gath,  and  Ekron,  it  was  up  this  valley  that  the 
"untended  kine  of  Beth-shemesh  dragged  the  cart  be- 
hind them  with  the  ark  upon  it,  'lowing  as  they  went, 
and  turned  not  aside  to  the  right  hand  or  to  the  left; 
and  the  lords  of  the  Philistines  went  after  them  unto 
the  border  of  Beth-shemesh.'  "  The  Kirjath-jearim, 
where  the  ark  rested  until  David  took  it  up  to  Jeru- 
salem, was  evidently  in  this  same  community.  One 
needs  only  to  see  this  narrow  pass  through  the  moun- 
tains to  understand  why  the  Israelites  were  able  to 
defend  themselves  so  nobly  against  the  attacks  of  the 
more  numerous  enemy,  and  why  during  the  time  of 
the  Maccabees  and  the  Crusaders  the  severe  engage- 
ments took  place  among  these  same  hills.  This  was 
the  natural  approach  to  Jerusalem  from  the  maritime 

265 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

plains,  and  to  capture  it  meant  to  gain  access  to  the 
capital  city.  It  was  not  only  the  scene  of  severe, 
bloody  struggles,  but  it  was  the  home  of  warlike  peo- 
ple, as  well  as  the  lurking  place  of  wild  beasts  with 
which  Samson,  David,  and  others  contended.  To  trav- 
erse such  a  defile  stirs  the  blood  of  every  tourist. 

As  we  slowly  ascended  the  hills  of  Judea  by  a  very 
steep  grade,  we  were  entertained  not  only  by  the  bold- 
ness of  the  scenery,  but  also  by  the  vineyards  which 
covered  the  terraced  mountain  sides.  In  the  days  of 
Israel's  great  prosperity  it  is  quite  probable  that  the 
hills  for  the  most  part  of  the  entire  country  were  sim- 
ilarly terraced,  and  that  large  communities  were  sup- 
ported by  these  mountain  products ;  for  the  soil  of  the 
hills  is  still  fertile,  and  will  bring  forth  a  harvest  when 
given  the  proper  attention.  As  we  reached  the  plain 
we  found  again  all  the  crops  of  the  Sharon,  although 
we  had  made  an  ascent  of  more  than  2,000  feet.  The 
guide  pointed  out  the  country  residence  of  the  Greek 
Patriarch  of  Jerusalem,  and  said  that  the  devout 
Simeon  had  his  residence  on  this  site.  But  we  were 
almost  listless;  for  our  faces  were  toward  Jerusalem, 
and  every  tourist  was  anxious  to  catch  sight  of  the 
sacred  city.  In  a  moment,  as  we  reached  the  hilltop, 
the  glorious  sight  was  caught,  and  from  there  to  the 
railroad  station  we  were  eager  for  a  view  of  all  we 
passed  or  approached.  The  station  is  located  outside 
the  city  in  what  is  known  as  the  German  colony.  We 
were  met  by  the  proprietor  of  our  hotel,  and  soon  we 
were  comfortably  settled  in  our  room,  from  which  we 
had  a  full  view  of  the  inclosed  city. 

"Beautiful  for  situation  is  the  city  of  the  great 
266 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

king"  is  a  sentiment  which  every  visitor  will  heartily 
indorse,  whatever  may  be  the  point  from  which  the 
city  is  seen.  One  can  readily  understand  why  the 
Psalmists  found  it  so  easy  to  fall  into  poetry  at  the 
thought  of  their  honored,  revered,  and  much-loved 
city.  A  more  glorious  sight  never  greeted  my  eyes 
than  that  of  my  first  evening,  when  in  the  gathering 
twilight  I  could  see  the  stern  gray  walls,  the  outlines 
of  the  Tower  of  David,  the  Mosque  of  Omar,  the 
Tower  of  Antonia,  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulcher, 
the  buttresses  of  the  Damascus  Gate,  the  place  of  the 
Gordon  tomb,  and  beyond  the  Mount  of  Olives, 
crowned  with  its  great  tower,  and  farther  still  the 
Mountains  of  Moab  beyond  the  Jordan.  There  was 
a  solemnity  in  the  scene  that  made  the  soul  turn  to 
God  and  the  heaven  that  seemed  watching  so  near  at 
hand.  The  deep-toned  bells  rang  out  from  the  various 
places  of  worship  the  earnest  call  to  prayer,  while  the 
shrill  voice  of  the  Muslim  in  the  minaret  added  the 
unusual  note  to  this  grave  harmony.  In  the  midst  of 
the  meditation  in  the  failing  evening  light,  the  great 
orange  moon,  larger  than  all  the  moons  that  I  had 
ever  seen,  more  golden  than  any  that  I  had  ever 
known,  climbed  from  behind  the  Moab  Mountains  into 
the  somber  sky  and  measured  itself  by  the  works  of 
man  on  the  Mount  of  Olives.  In  less  than  an  hour  its 
glory  had  fallen  upon  the  city  of  David,  and  there  lay 
before  me  in  the  hush  of  that  gorgeous  night  the  un- 
disputed site  of  the  most  memorable  scenes  ever  en- 
acted in  the  history  of  the  human  race.  Is  it  any  won- 
der that  more  than  once  during  the  night  sleep  re- 
leased its  grasp  for  a  few  moments,  so  that  the  trav- 
eler might  again  and  again  see  the  shifting  of  the 

267 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

shadows  and  catch  new  visions  of  the  world's  holy 
city? 

The  morning  brought  a  new  beauty  and  a  new 
splendor  when  the  sun  sent  his  heralds  of  day  up  over 
those  eastern  hills,  and  when,  full-orbed,  he  flooded 
the  city  with  light.  The  atmosphere  of  that  bright 
May  morning  was  balmy,  although  a  sirocco  had  been 
blowing  the  day  before.  Before  nightfall  we  learned 
the  meaning  of  that  dry,  parching  east  wind  which  at 
times  comes  sweeping  up  from  the  desert  along  the 
Jordan  and  the  Dead  Sea.  It  brings  with  the  with- 
ering heat  a  fine  white  sand,  which  is  as  irritating  to 
man  as  it  is  destructive  to  vegetation.  But  the  cool 
mountain  air  of  the  nighttime  leaves  Jerusalem  fresh 
in  the  opening  of  a  new  day. 

Fortunate  indeed  is  that  individual  who  has  the 
privilege  of  a  visit  to  Jerusalem,  the  holy  city  of  the 
ancient  Israelites  and  the  religious  capital  of  the 
world.  From  the  standpoint  of  commerce,  learning, 
political  power  Jerusalem  may  be  insignificant  in  this 
generation ;  but  from  the  standpoint  of  human  hope 
and  destiny  the  old  city  is  possessed  of  an  interest 
which  neither  time  nor  conditions  can  ever  abate  or 
destroy.  The  foundations  of  the  world's  institutions 
are  laid  upon  corner  stones  which  were  quarried  from 
the  deposits  of  this  holy  place.  The  hidden  wealth 
of  man  and  his  world  is  being  constantly  revealed  by 
the  light  which  is  maintained  by  the  flow  of  truth 
from  this  ancient  reservoir  of  heaven-wrought  civili- 
zation. Mt.  Zion  is  an  eternal  hill  no  more  ancient 
in  history  than  it  is  secure  in  the  devotion  of  all  future 
generations.  Jerusalem  may  suffer  yet  the  ravages  of 
many  barbarous  hands  and  be  many  times  razed  to 

268 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

the  earth,  as  in  the  past;  but  it  can  never  perish  so 
long  as  man  inhabits  this  planet.  To  see  this  sacred 
place  is  to  come  in  touch  with  the  two  eternities  be- 
tween whose  peaks  man  walks  in  hope  to  the  end  of 
his  day.  To  spend  a  fortnight  in  the  ancient  city  is 
to  have  communion  with  the  divine  through  the 
means  by  which  the  holiest  revelations  have  come  to 
man. 

Jerusalem  lies  in  practically  the  same  latitude  as 
Savannah,  Ga.,  Montgomery,  Ala.,  Jackson,  Miss., 
Waco,  Tex.,  El  Paso,  Tex.,  and  the  southern  bound- 
ary line  of  California.  It  is  2,550  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  from  which  it  is  distant 
thirty-five  miles.  Its  height  above  the  sea  level  gives 
it  the  benefit  of  a  mountain  atmosphere ;  and  that,  as 
a  rule,  insures  pleasant  nights  in  the  hot  season.  The 
temperature  has  its  extremes,  but  it  does  not  fre- 
quently fall  to  the  freezing  point.  In  winter  the 
weather  is  colder  than  it  is  on  the  plains,  while  in 
summer  the  heat  mounts  higher  and  is  more  trying. 
The  observer  reports  that  in  "fifteen  years  there  was 
an  average  of  thirty-eight  days  on  which  the  ther- 
mometer was  above  90  degrees,  on  twenty-eight  oc- 
casions from  100  to  108  degrees,  and  an  average  of 
fifty-five  nights  on  which  it  fell  under  40  degrees,  with 
one  hundred  and  seven  descents  to  or  below  freezing 
point."  Ice  is  sometimes  formed  during  the  night,  but 
it  does  not  last  through  a  day.  Snow  has  fallen  in 
half  the  seasons,  but  usually  in  small  quantity  and  is 
soon  melted.  However,  there  have  been  heavy  snow- 
storms in  Jerusalem,  and  the  drifts  have  lain  in  the 
ravines  for  two  or  three  weeks.  It  never  rains  in 
Jerusalem  in  July,  and  scarcely  ever  in  June,  August, 

269 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

and  September.  In  May  and  October  it  occasionally 
rains,  but  then  only  in  small  showers.  Yet  it  rains  as 
much  in  Jerusalem  in  a  year  as  it  does  in  London — 
about  twenty-five  and  one-fourth  inches.  A  fourth 
of  the  rain  falls  in  January,  while  large  portions  come 
in  December,  February,  and  March.  In  November 
and  April  the  rainfall  is  not  heavy.  The  rainy  winter 
and  the  dry  summer  are  common  to  all  Syria ;  but  the 
seasons  are  more  capricious  in  Jerusalem,  on  account 
of  its  elevation,  than  in  other  parts  of  Palestine.  It 
is  very  readily  understood  why  tourists  are  instructed 
to  visit  Palestine  in  April  and  May  if  they  wish  to  sec 
the  country  in  its  best  condition.  In  the  summer 
months  the  heat  is  exhausting  and  the  fields  are 
parched ;  in  the  winter  the  rain  makes  travel  very 
uncomfortable,  if  not  impossible.  In  April  and  May 
the  vegetation  is  at  its  best,  while  in  October  and 
November  the  land  is  desolate  after  the  summer  heat. 
Those  crops  only  are  possible  which  can  be  matured 
through  the  moisture  of  winter  rains,  and  consequent- 
ly the  harvest  time  is  more  apt  to  be  in  the  beginning 
of  the  summer  than  in  the  opening  of  the  autumn. 

While  Jerusalem  is  situated  on  a  hill,  on  three  sides 
of  which  are  deep  valleys  or  ravines,  yet  it  is  sur- 
rounded by  higher  hills  which  inclose  it  on  every  side, 
and  which  leave  only  a  small  outlet,  and  that  toward 
the  southeast.  "As  the  mountains  are  round  about 
Jerusalem,  so  are  thy  mercies  round  about  me."  The 
writers  on  the  topography  and  foundations  of  ancient 
Jerusalem  have  had  no  trouble  in  locating  the  walls 
on  the  three  sides ;  for  the  Valley  of  Hinnom  on  the 
west  side  and  extending  around  on  the  south  side 
meets  at  the  southeast  corner  of  the  city  the  Valley 

270 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

of  Kidron,  which  extends  along  the  east  side.  The 
declivity  on  the  three  sides  is  so  abrupt  and  so  de- 
cided that  the  wall  has  always  been  on  or  near  the 
place  which  it  now  occupies.  So  the  position  of  the 
north  wall  has  always  determined  the  position  and 
the  size  of  the  city.  At  present  the  wall  of  Jerusalem, 
which  was  built  about  1540  by  the  Turkish  ruler  Sulei- 
man, has  a  circumference  of  two  and  a  half  miles, 
while  the  greatest  distance  across  this  inclosed  city  is 
only  three-fourths  of  a  mile.  Outside  of  the  city,  west 
and  northwest,  a  large  community  has  been  built  up 
in  the  last  few  years.  Here  will  be  found  all  the  Euro- 
pean and  American  residences  of  the  city. 

The  population  of  the  present  city  is  about  60,000, 
of  whom  about  7,000  are  Moslems,  40,000  Jews,  and 
13,000  Christians.  The  Christians  are  divided  as  fol- 
lows :  Four  thousand  Roman  Catholics,  6,000  orthodox 
Greeks,  800  Armenians,  200  United  Greeks,  150 
Copts,  100  Abyssinians,  and  1,400  Protestants.  A 
bitter  war  rages  continually  among  the  sects  of  the 
native  Christians,  and  peace  is  kept  only  by  the  iron 
hand  of  the  Mohammedan  police  official.  As  a  result 
of  this  contention,  all  Christians  are  held  in  contempt 
by  the  orthodox  Jews  and  the  IMohammedans.  Mis- 
sion work  can  make  little  or  no  advancement  among 
the  Mohammedans  of  Palestine  because  of  the  ill  feel- 
ing which  the  sects  of  native  Christians  continually 
manifest  among  themselves.  It  is  also  true  that  some 
of  the  Protestant  missionaries  who  make  themselves 
most  conspicuous  are  exceedingly  fanatical.  We 
found  one  man  who  had  felt  himself  called  of  God, 
according  to  his  statement,  to  come  to  Jerusalem  and 
demonstrate  the  gift  of  tongues  as  a  special  evidence 

271 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

of  the  Spirit's  present  dealing  with  beUevers,  Had  his 
sanctity  been  commensurate  with  his  ignorance,  his 
spiritual  power  with  his  brazen  effrontery,  his  actual 
achievements  with  his  pretentious  claims,  there  might 
have  been  some  sympathy  for  him  in  his  delusion.  His 
"gift  of  tongues"  was  a  mechanical  babble  which  was 
no  more  intelligible  to  himself  than  to  his  hearers. 
He  was  a  veritable  cheat,  a  fraud,  a  deadbeat.  But 
residents  of  Jerusalem  told  me  that  he  was  only  one 
of  a  class  which  come  to  Jerusalem  continually  with 
their  inane  and  insane  pretenses.  One  can  never  fully 
appreciate  the  apostle's  warning  against  "every  wind 
of  doctrine"  until  he  has  visited  this  city.  In  several 
cities  of  Palestine  there  are  missionaries  supported  by 
American  funds  whose  chief  message  is  a  declaration 
of  belief  in  the  early  physical  coming  of  Jesus  to 
Jerusalem  to  assume  the  government  of  his  kingdom. 
Jerusalem,  the  somber  city,  without  amusement  and 
with  a  religious  tinge  on  everything,  is  to-day  the 
home  of  the  grossest  superstitions,  the  wildest  fanat- 
icism, and  the  deadliest  formalism  which  are  known  to 
the  religious  world.  Whether  with  the  Jew,  Moham- 
medan, or  Christian,  native  or  missionary,  religious 
sanity  and  toleration  have  been  thrown  to  the  winds, 
and  each,  with  his  mind  closed  to  outside  influences, 
pursues  the  bent  of  his  own  narrow,  ill-informed,  and 
prejudiced  mind  and  looks  with  contempt  upon  all 
who  are  going  another  way  or  giving  expression  to 
another  thought.  In  no  place  in  the  world  is  truth 
more  apt  to  be  crucified  than  in  Jerusalem ;  and  when 
the  Lord  Christ  shall  have  indeed  enthroned  himself 
in  the  people  of  the  city,  the  day  of  the  millennium 
will  be  surely  at  hand. 

272 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

The  World's  Holy  City. 

JERUSALEM  the  Golden  will  be  a  very  compact 
city  if  it  is  fashioned  after  the  ancient  capital  of 
the  Israelites,  and  the  gold  in  the  pavements  will  not 
be  seen  if  the  streets  are  no  cleaner  than  those  of 
the  Jerusalem  of  this  day.  There  are  two  chief  streets, 
one  beginning  at  the  Jaffa  Gate  on  the  west  and  the 
other  at  the  Damascus  Gate  on  the  north ;  and  these 
intersect  in  the  middle  of  the  town  and  divide  it  into 
four  sections.  The  northeast  section  is  occupied  large- 
ly by  the  Moslems,  the  southeast  by  the  Jews,  the 
southwest  by  the  Armenians,  and  the  northwest  by 
the  Graeco-Frankish  people.  However,  there  are  mem- 
bers of  each  of  these  classes  that  can  be  found  in  all 
these  sections.  The  streets  are  narrow — never  more 
than  twenty  feet  wide,  and  often  not  more  than  ten 
or  twelve — poorly  or  badly  paved,  crooked  and  ill- 
kept.  After  a  rain  they  are  excessively  dirty.  There 
is  very  little  reason  why  there  should  be  dust,  for 
cobblestones  cover  them  for  the  most  part  and  no  heavy 
wagons  ever  pass  through  them.  To  be  sure,  the 
chalky  limestone  is  easily  worn  into  dust  even  by  the 
heel  of  man,  but  a  little  sweeping  would  keep  that 
away.  But  the  present  "Jebusites"  are  not  noted  for 
their  overflowing  energy  and  their  twentieth  century 
enterprise. 

Many  of  the  streets  of  Jerusalem  are  vaulted  over, 
and  consequently  they  may  truly  be  called  blind  al- 
18  273 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

leys.  Space  is  left  in  the  vault  for  sufficient  light 
from  the  sky  to  make  the  way  bright  enough  for  use 
in  the  daytime.  At  night  the  lamp  or  lantern  is  quite 
necessary  in  many  streets,  as  the  street  lamps  are  not 
numerous.  One  often  feels  that  he  is  traversing  a 
subway  or  some  subterranean  passage  as  he  makes  his 
way  through  Jerusalem  over  the  rough  streets,  with 
no  sidewalks  whatever  and  underneath  the  houses  in 
which  the  people  live.  The  Master's  injunction  to  his 
disciples,  "And  let  him  that  is  on  the  house  top  not 
come  down  into  the  house,"  when  they  saw  the  "abom- 
ination of  desolation  spoken  of  by  Daniel  the  prophet," 
is  well  understood  when  it  is  seen  how  easily  one 
could  step  from  roof  to  roof  and  get  out  of  the  city 
before  an  enemy  in  the  street  could  find  him.  The 
houses  are  built  entirely  of  stone,  and  inclose  a  court. 
The  rooms  are  grouped  around  the  court,  and  each  has 
its  own  entrance.  The  passages  and  staircases  are  left 
open  to  the  air,  which  is  poor  enough  at  best  in  such 
a  closely  built  city.  The  roofs  are  usually  flat,  so  as 
to  permit  use  in  the  summer  for  sleeping,  and  yet  they 
have  sufficient  slant  toward  the  court  to  turn  all  the 
rain  water  into  the  cistern  which  is  in  the  center  of 
the  court.  Jerusalem  has  no  wells  and  only  one  spring, 
and  must  catch  its  own  water  when  it  falls  in  the  win- 
ter. The  water  of  the  cisterns  is  quite  wholesome  if 
the  cisterns  are  kept  clean.  The  one  spring  in  Jeru- 
salem is  the  Virgin's  Fountain,  which  is  in  the  Valley 
of  the  Kidron,  on  the  east  side  of  the  city.  It  has 
been  identified  by  the  scholars  of  to-day  as  the  Spring 
of  Gihon,  where  the  followers  of  David  anointed  Sol- 
omon as  king.  There  is  a  subterranean  passage  which 
connects  the  fountain  with  the  Pool  of  Siloam,  and 

274 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

which  is  i,yQO  feet  long,  although  the  direct  distance 
between  the  fountain  and  the  pool  is  about  1,090  feet. 
Here,  according  to  a  tradition  that  does  not  antedate 
the  fourteenth  century,  the  Virgin  once  drew  water 
and  washed  the  swaddling  clothes  of  her  Son.  It  is 
sometimes  called  the  Fountain  of  the  Steps,  as  one 
descends  sixteen  steps  to  a  level  space,  and  then  four- 
teen steps  to  the  water,  which  fills  the  basin,  eleven 
feet  long  and  five  feet  wide.  The  spring  is  intermit- 
tent, and  the  water  flows  in  the  rainy  winter  season 
three  to  five  times  daily,  in  summer  twice,  and  in  the 
autumn  only  once.  This  interesting  phenomenon  is 
explained  as  follows:  In  the  interior  of  the  rock  the 
water  collects  in  a  natural  reservoir.  This  reservoir 
is  connected  with  the  outer  basin  by  a  siphon-shaped 
passage,  which,  acting  by  a  natural  law,  empties  the 
reservoir  into  the  basin  whenever  the  water  in  the 
reservoir  reaches  the  highest  level  of  the  siphon-shaped 
passage ;  and  then,  after  the  reservoir  is  emptied,  time 
must  elapse  before  the  reservoir  can  be  refilled  and 
before  another  outflow  is  possible.  The  subterranean 
passage  which  connects  this  spring  and  the  Pool  of 
Siloam  was  likely  constructed  by  Hezekiah.  "And 
the  rest  of  the  acts  of  Hezekiah,  and  how  he  made  a 
pool  and  a  conduit,  and  how  he  brought  water  into 
the  city,  .  .  .  are  they  not  written  in  the  book 
of  the  chronicles  of  the  kings  of  Judah?"  In  this 
way  he  deprived  the  enemies  who  attacked  Jerusalem 
of  water,  as  there  were  no  other  springs  and  the  cis- 
terns of  the  people  were  within  the  walls.  The  Pool 
of  Siloam,  fifty-two  feet  long  and  nineteen  feet  wide, 
is  now  outside  of  the  wall,  south  of  the  temple  area, 
but  evidently  in  ancient  times  it  was  within  the  walls. 

275 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

Excavations  have  revealed  near  it  parts  of  an  old  wall, 
a  paved  street,  a  bath  house,  and  the  remains  of  an  old 
basilica. 

No  sooner  had  our  early  breakfast  been  finished  on 
our  first  morning  in  Jerusalem  than  we  took  a  car- 
riage for  a  circuit  around  the  northern  side  of  the  city 
to  the  Mount  of  Olives  on  the  east.  Of  course  we  did 
not  drive  through  the  city,  because  that  is  impossible. 
The  streets  are  too  narrow,  too  steep,  and  too  well 
filled  with  people.  After  passing  through  the  modern 
settlements  on  the  west  and  north  of  the  city,  in  which 
may  be  found  one-fourth  of  the  population  of  Jeru- 
salem (it  being  estimated  that  one-half  of  the  popula- 
tion of  the  city  lives  without  the  walls)  and  where  the 
buildings  are  of  modern  syle,  we  came  out  on  the  ridge 
which  extends  around  the  city  on  the  north  side  to 
the  Mount  of  Olives  on  the  east  side.  A  finer  pano- 
rama and  a  more  thrilling  sight  no  one  ever  beheld 
in  an  ancient  city  nestled  among  eternal  hills,  from 
which  the  generations  for  thirty  centuries  have  looked 
with  admiration,  awe,  and  adoration.  The  Master's 
sympathetic  words  would  not  leave  for  a  moment: 
"O  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  how  often  would  I  have 
gathered  thy  children  together,  and  ye  would  not." 
With  mingled  sensations  of  sorrow  and  delight,  of 
oppression  and  exhilaration,  the  Mount  of  OHves  was 
reached,  and  we  dismissed  the  carriage  and  began  our 
excursions  about  this  sacred  hill.  The  ravages  of 
the  centuries  have  made  uncertain  many  places  about 
Jerusalem,  but  of  this  mountain  which  Jesus  loved 
there  can  be  no  doubt.  The  traditions  which  designate 
certain  spots  are  not  always  trustworthy,  but  that  the 
places  which  are  approximate  to  those  where  these 

276 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

great  events  happened  have  been  pointed  out  cannot 
be  denied.  The  Russian  Christians  who  are  of  the 
Orthodox  Greek  faith  have  a  handsome  church  on  the 
summit  of  the  Mount  of  OHves,  which  was  erected 
after  the  design  of  an  old  church  the  remains  of  which 
were  found  here.  This  is  held  by  them  to  be  the  spot 
from  which  the  Ascension  took  place.  We  went  into 
the  church,  which  was  filled  with  worshipers,  and  en- 
gaged in  spirit  in  the  services  which  were  in  progress. 
After  four  months  of  heathenism  and  the  long-con- 
tinued contact  with  the  uncongenial  worship  of  arro- 
gant Mohammedanism,  my  heart  was  strangely 
warmed  as  I  heard  even  in  a  strange  tongue  the  name 
of  my  Lord  and  saw  the  adoration  of  faithful  men 
and  women  at  the  appearance  of  the  cross,  the  sacred 
symbol  of  a  sacrificial  salvation.  I  forgot  that  they 
were  Greek  Catholics  and  I  a  Protestant,  but  with 
unpent  tears  I  stood  and  worshiped  with  that  unfa- 
miliar throng  as  they  sang  the  praise  of  God  and  the 
glory  of  his  Christ.  From  the  six-storied  Belvedere 
Tower  by  the  church  I  had  a  magnificent  view  not 
only  of  Jerusalem,  but  of  the  surrounding  country 
and  even  of  the  Dead  Sea  on  the  east,  Bethlehem  on 
the  south,  and  the  great  Judean  Mountains  on  the 
west.  However,  one  is  able  to  see  the  Dead  Sea  from 
the  summit  of  the  hill  without  the  aid  of  the  tower. 
The  atmosphere  is  usually  so  clear  that  the  blue  waters 
seem  to  be  quite  near,  although  they  are  fifteen  miles 
away  and  about  3,900  feet  below  the  level  of  the  sum- 
mit of  the  Mount  of  Olives. 

A  small  village  covers  the  summit  of  this  eastern 
hill,  the  Moslem  population  of  which  is  somewhat  fa- 
natical, and  visitors  are  sometimes  pelted  with  stones. 

277 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

The  boys  in  the  streets  may  become  familiar  in  order 
to  extract  purses  from  the  pockets  of  unsuspecting 
persons.  One  offered  himself  to  us  as  a  guide,  but 
he  was  required  to  keep  at  a  proper  distance.  He 
took  us  to  the  Chapel  of  the  Ascension,  a  site  long 
accepted  by  tradition  as  a  place  from  which  Christ 
was  caught  up  from  his  disciples.  The  footprint  and 
the  print  of  the  staff  are  in  the  rock ;  but  as  these 
prints  have  been  variously  described  in  the  last  six 
or  eight  centuries,  one  may  be  allowed  to  reserve  his 
credulity  for  other  exacting  demands.  However,  the 
scene  of  the  Ascension  has  been  located  on  the  Mount 
of  Olives  since  the  days  of  Constantine.  Not  far  from 
the  Chapel  of  the  Ascension  is  a  Carmelite  convent. 
Coming  down  the  mountain  toward  Jerusalem,  about 
halfway  one  finds  the  traditional  spot  where  Jesus 
"beheld  the  city  and  wept  over  it."  Farther  on  down 
the  hill  one  comes  to  the  Church  of  St.  Mary  Magda- 
lene, a  Greek  house  of  worship,  surmounted  by  seven 
bulbous  gilded  domes  and  lavishly  adorned,  which  was 
built  in  1888  by  the  Russian  Czar,  Alexander  IH. 
Near  it  is  the  garden  belonging  to  the  Greeks  which 
they  claim  is  Gethsemane.  Just  below  the  church  is 
the  Garden  of  Gethsemane,  which  is  owned  by  the 
Franciscans,  and  which  is  usually  considered  the  real 
spot  of  the  agony.  The  garden  is  surrounded  by  a 
wall,  and  contains  an  irregular  square  about  seventy 
yards  long.  There  are  eight  venerable  olive  trees  in 
the  garden,  and  they  are  said  to  date  from  the  time 
of  Jesus ;  but  here  again  one  may  be  allowed  some 
mental  reservation.  ■  But  that  the  real  Garden  of  Geth- 
semane was  in  this  neighborhood  all  scholars  are  prac- 
tically agreed.    On  the  road  leading  from  the  Garden 

278 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

is  a  chapel  which  is  said  to  cover  the  burial  place  of 
Mary,  the  mother  of  Jesus.  This  public  highway  leads 
across  the  brook  Kidron,  usually  dry,  by  one  of  the 
places  where  Stephen  is  said  to  have  been  stoned,  on 
up  the  hillside  of  St.  Stephen's  Gate. 

To  enter  St.  Stephen's  Gate  in  the  east  wall,  on 
coming  up  from  the  Valley  of  Jehoshaphat,  or,  more 
properly,  the  Valley  of  Kidron,  after  a  visit  to  Geth- 
semane  and  the  Mount  of  Olives,  one  is  compelled  to 
run  the  gantlet  which  the  begging  lepers  have  main- 
tained for  many  years.  A  beggar  in  Jerusalem  is  by 
no  means  an  unusual  sight,  and  a  traveler  who  had 
just  made  a  journey  through  China,  India,  and  Eg}'pt 
was  not  unacquainted  with  the  appeals  of  mendicants ; 
but  the  leper  was  a  new  creature  in  this  society.  These 
men  and  women  of  the  "unclean"  class  were  not  in- 
clined to  keep  a  respectful  distance,  but  they  would 
thrust  their  handless  stubs  into  the  very  faces  of  pass- 
ers-by and  cry  out  for  backsheesh.  The  hand  from 
which  a  finger  or  fingers  were  gone  or  an  arm  from 
which  the  hand  had  fallen  had  not  the  appearance  of 
repulsive  sores,  but  rather  that  of  healed  stubs  from 
which  a  member  had  been  amputated  by  the  surgeon's 
knife.  The  more  repugnant  cases  were  likely  not  seen 
by  the  foreign  visitors. 

The  present  wall  of  Jerusalem  has  eight  gates,  one 
of  which  (the  Golden)  has  been  closed  for  many  cen- 
turies. On  the  north  side  is  Herod's  Gate ;  northwest, 
Damascus  Gate;  west.  New  Gate  and  Jaffa  Gate; 
south,  Zion  Gate  and  Dung  Gate ;  east.  Golden  Gate 
and  St.  Stephen's  Gate.  The  Damascus,  Jaffa,  and 
St.  Stephen's  Gates  are  those  most  used,  as  they  con- 
nect the  chief  streets  of  the  city  with  the  three  great 

279 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

highways  which  lead  from  the  city.  The  Golden  Gate 
in  its  present  form  dates  from  the  seventh  century 
after  Christ,  although  this  is  the  reputed  place  of  the 
gate  through  which  Jesus  made  his  triumphal  entry 
into  Jerusalem.  In  8io  the  Arabs  built  it  up  with 
the  exception  of  a  small  opening.  At  the  time  of  the 
Crusades  the  gate  was  opened  for  a  few  hours  on 
Palm  Sunday,  and  a  great  procession  with  palm 
branches  entered  from  the  Mount  of  Olives,  led  by 
the  patriarch  of  Jerusalem  riding  on  an  ass.  The 
Mohammedans  have  a  tradition  that  on  a  Friday  (their 
holy  day)  some  Christian  conqueror  will  enter  by  this 
gate  and  wrest  the  city  from  them,  I  confess  that  my 
experiences  with  the  present  authorities  and  citizens 
in  Jerusalem  and  Palestine  increase  in  me  the  desire 
to  see  this  tradition  become  a  historical  fact  before 
many  years  shall  have  passed.  If  there  is  a  more 
offensive  and  exasperating  people  on  earth  than  these 
same  Ishmaelites,  I  am  very  glad  that  in  all  my  jour- 
ney I  was  not  forced  to  meet  them.  The  "milk  of 
human  kindness"  is  not  delivered  in  the  communities 
where  they  predominate.  One  may  sit  in  his  comfort- 
able library  in  Europe  and  America  and  conclude  that 
the  zeal  and  the  efforts  of  the  Crusaders  were  of  the 
highest  folly,  but  a  few  days  in  Jerusalem  will  be  suf- 
ficient to  warm  the  blood  of  any  earnest  man  and  pre- 
pare him  in  spirit  for  just  such  contests  as  those  fol- 
lowers of  the  cross  religiously  entered. 

The  Gate  of  St.  Stephen  is  regarded  by  those  who 
accept  the  tradition  as  the  gate  through  which  the 
first  martyr  went  to  his  death.  The  native  Christians 
call  it  the  Gate  of  Our  Lady  Mary  because  the  road 
leads  down  into  the  Kidrcn  \^alley  to  the  traditional 

2S0 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

tomb  of  the  Virgin.  The  doorway  on  the  north  side 
of  the  street  within  the  gate  leads  to  the  Church  of  St. 
Anne,  which  occupies  the  traditional  site  of  the  home 
of  the  parents  of  Mary  and  the  room  in  which  the 
mother  of  Jesus  was  born.  Farther  on  is  the  Fran- 
ciscan Chapel  of  Scourging,  and  the  attendant  can  for 
a  small  coin  show  the  hole  in  which  rested  the  column 
to  which  the  Galilean  was  bound.  However,  the  place 
of  scourging  has  been  shown  in  several  localities  in 
the  last  few  centuries.  ■  A  few  feet  away  on  the  south 
side  of  the  street  is  the  site  of  the  ancient  Castle  of 
Antonia,  the  south  side  of  which  opens  out  on  the 
Haram  Ech  Sherif,  which  incloses  the  temple  area. 
This  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  localities  of  Jeru- 
salem, as  it  was  the  real  center  of  activities  in  the  time 
of  our  Lord  and  not  far  from  the  place  of  Israel's 
greatest  glory.  The  Via  Dolorosa  begins  here,  and 
the  fourteen  stations  where  the  cross  rested  while 
Jesus  was  on  the  way  to  the  place  of  the  crucifixion 
are  marked  by  tablets  and  usually  by  chapels.  On  the 
opposite  side  of  the  street  from  the  Castle  of  Antonia 
is  the  Convent  of  the  Sisters  of  Zion,  which  in  all  prob- 
ability covers  the  site  of  Pilate's  judgment  hall.  The 
very  stones  of  the  old  pavement  are  in  the  place  which 
they  occupied  when  Jesus  was  tried  before  the  Roman 
Governor,  and  it  is  highly  probable  that  these  stones 
were  pressed  by  the  feet  of  the  Nazarene  as  he  passed 
out  of  the  hall  on  the  way  up  to  Golgotha.  From  here 
the  twenty-seven  steps  were  taken  which  are  now  in 
the  chapel  near  the  Church  of  St.  John  Lateran,  in 
Rome,  and  over  which  the  faithful  Roman  Catholics 
go  on  their  knees  while  they  offer  their  prayers.     In 

281 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

this  same  convent  the  sisters  show  a  pedestal  which  was 
found  on  this  site,  and  upon  which  it  is  claimed  that 
Pilate  sat  when  proclaiming  a  law  or  passing-  sentence. 
One  cannot  fail  to  be  impressed  with  this  place  and  be 
made  to  feel  that  this  is  really  the  spot  where  Jesus 
stood  when  the  people  cried :  "Crucify  him !"  The 
street  in  front  of  the  convent  is  crossed  by  the  Ecce 
Homo  Arch,  which  is  supposed  to  mark  the  spot  where 
Jesu-s  stood  when  Pilate  said :  "Behold  the  man !"  Part 
of  this  arch  is  inclosed  within  the  convent  and  may  be 
seen  over  the  high  altar  of  the  little  chapel. 

The  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulcher  is  built  over  the. 
traditional  site  of  Calvary  and  the  new  tomb  of 
Joseph  of  Arimathea,  in  which  the  body  of  Jesus  was 
laid.  The  distance  between  the  Ecce  Homo  Arch  and 
the  church  is  not  more  than  four  hundred  yards,  but 
there  is  no  direct  street  that  connects  the  two  places. 
The  street  from  the  Arch  descends  a  little  more  than 
one  hundred  yards  to  the  street  from  the  Damascus 
Gate.  Here  is  the  third  station,  where  Jesus  sank 
under  the  cross,  and  near  by  is  the  reputed  site  of  the 
rich  man's  house  where  Lazarus  begged.  The  street 
runs  southeast  for  one  hundred  yards,  and  at  its  in- 
tersection with  the  street  leading  west  up  the  hill  is 
the  station  where  Simon  the  Cyrene  took  the  cross. 
Near  the  seventh  station  the  traditionalists  claim  that 
Jesus  passed  out  of  the  city.  On  every  Friday  after- 
noon a  Franciscan  priest  walks  the  way  of  sorrow  and 
stops  at  each  of  the  fourteen  stations  to  offer  prayers. 
The  church  is  in  no  sense  attractive  in  appearance,  as 
it  is  hemmed  in  by  other  buildings.  On  the  side  front- 
ing the  street  there  is  an  open  court  or  quadrangle, 

282 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

^v'hich  is  paved  with  yellowish  stone  slabs,  and  which 
is  filled  with  traders  and  beggars.  Here  the  Orthodox 
Greek-s  gather  for  their  ceremony  of  foot-washing. 
The  chapels  on  the  right  or  west  side  of  the  quadrangle 
belong  to  the  Greeks.  On  the  left  side  the  most  im- 
portant building  is  the  Monastery  of  Abraham,  which 
covers  the  spots  where  Abraham  discovered  the  ram 
and  where  he  was  on  the  point  of  sacrificing  Isaac. 
Within  the  door  of  the  Church,  immediately  in  front, 
is  the  tomb  of  Philip,  the  English  Crusader.  Of  course 
I  wanted  to  visit  the  tombs  of  Melchizedek  and  Adam, 
and  that  privilege  was  granted  me  by  the  courteous 
attendant.  I  saw  also  the  rocky  chambers  which  the 
guide  said  were  the  tombs  of  Nicodemus  and  Joseph 
of  Arimathea.  I  saw  the  spot  to  which  tradition  points 
as  the  place  where  Jesus  appeared  to  Mary  Magdalene 
on  the  morning  of  the  resurrection.  The  Greeks  have 
a  chapel  dedicated  to  Longinus,  the  soldier  who,  ac- 
cording to  a  fifth  century  tradition,  pierced  the  Sav- 
iour's side,  and  whose  blind  eye  was  brought  to  its  sight 
by  some  of  the  spurting  fluid  from  the  Crucified's  side. 
But  my  incredulity  robbed  me  of  any  thrilling  sensa- 
tions on  seeing  these  places,  so  sacred  to  many  people. 
Even  the  Holy  Sepulcher  itself  lost  some  of  its  sacred- 
ness  by  being  surrounded  by  these  objects  whose  tradi- 
tions repel  more  than  attract  thinking  men.  The  Chap- 
el of  the  Holy  Sepulcher  is  in  the  rotunda  under  the 
dome,  and  is  twenty-six  feet  long  and  seventeen  and  a 
half  feet  wide.  It  was  reconstructed  of  marble  in  1810. 
From  a  kind  of  antechamber  the  visitor  enters  the 
Angels'  Chapel,  eleven  feet  long  and  ten  feet  wide,  in 
the  middle  of  which  is  a  stone  set  in  marble  which  is 

283 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

said  to  be  that  which  covered  the  mouth  of  the  tomb. 
There  are  fifteen  lamps  in  this  chamber,  five  belonging 
to  the  Greeks,  five  to  the  Latins,  four  to  the  Arme- 
nians, and  one  to  the  Copts.  Through  a  low  door  one 
passes  into  the  Chapel  of  the  Holy  Sepulcher,  six  and 
a  half  feet  by  six  feet.  From  the  ceiling  hang  forty- 
three  lamps,  four  of  which  belong  to  the  Copts  and 
the  rest  to  the  other  three  sects.  If  one  of  these  lamps 
were  to  disappear,  there  would  be  a  religious  war  in 
that  holy  place.  They  are  counted  several  times  a 
day  by  the  Mohammedan  guards,  who  are  stationed  in 
all  the  churches  which  cover  these  traditional  sites  to 
prevent  the  priests  of  the  various  faiths  from  coming 
into  deadly  conflict.  The  whole  Christian  world  suf- 
fers in  shame  for  the  prejudice  and  intolerance  of 
these  ignorant  and  ill-spirited  followers  of  the  lowly 
Man  of  peace.  The  tombstone,  covered  by  a  marble 
slab,  is  used  as  an  altar,  and  mass  is  said  there  daily. 
A  Greek  priest  is  on  duty,  and  he  officiates  for  any 
pilgrim  who  wants  holy  water  or  the  blessings  from 
the  representative  of  the  Church. 

Under  the  same  roof,  only  a  few  feet  from  the  re- 
puted sepulcher,  is  Golgotha,  which  is  reached  by  a 
flight  of  steps  ascending  fifteen  feet.  Some  one  asks : 
"Is  this  really  the  site  of  Calvary  and  the  tomb  from 
which  Jesus  arose?  Did  all  those  sad,  sublime  events 
in  our  Lord's  suft"ering  for  the  salvation  of  man  take 
place  on  that  high  ground?"  Who  knows?  Dr. 
George  Adam  Smith  in  his  latest  great  work  on  Jeru- 
salem says:  "But,  after  twenty-seven  years'  study  of 
the  evidence,  I  am  unable  to  feel  that  a  conclusion 
one  way  or  the  other  is  yet  possible  or  perhaps  ever 
.    284 


THE  HOLY  SEPULCHER. 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

will  be  possible."  Calvary  and  the  tomb  were  with- 
out the  wall,  but  where  was  the  wall  ?  At  present  they 
are  in  the  center  of  the  inclosed  city,  but  who  can  say 
where  the  wall  was  that  Titus  destroyed  in  70  A.D.  ? 
All  the  explorations  and  excavations  have  failed  to 
settle  that  question.  General  Gordon  found  a  tomb 
and  a  garden  northwest  of  the  Damascus  Gate  which 
he  claimed  must  be  the  real  sites,  but  his  claims  have 
been  discredited  by  all  scholars.  When  all  the  evi- 
dence is  considered,  the  Christian  world  will  likely  be 
content  to  regard  the  present  place  of  the  Holy  Sepul- 
cher  as  the  probable  place  of  these  great  events. 

If  we  accept  the  tradition  which  dates  back  almost 
1,600  years,  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulcher  covers 
the  most  sacred  spots  in  Jerusalem — the  place  of  the 
crucifixion  and  the  tomb  in  which  lay  the  body  of  the 
Saviour  of  the  world.  The  place  which  must  be  next 
in  interest  is  the  Dome  of  the  Rock,  the  spot  where, 
according  to  tradition,  Melchizedek  offered  sacrifice, 
Abraham  brought  his  son  as  an  offering,  and  the 
Ark  of  the  Covenant  rested,  and  the  spot  without 
doubt  where  Israel  made  her  offerings  through  many 
centuries.  The  Dome  of  the  Rock  was  in  the  Temple, 
even  in  the  Temple  which  Solomon  built ;  and  now  it 
is  in  the  center  of  the  temple  area,  which  is  in  the  in- 
closed Haram  Ech-Sheriff.  Jerusalem  has  within  its 
walls  an  area  of  two  hundred  and  nine  acres,  of  which 
the  Haram  Ech-Sheriff  contains  thirty-five  acres  in 
the  southeastern  corner.  The  Mohammedans  are  very 
fanatical  about  this  territory,  and  will  permit  no  one 
to  enter  the  inclosure — for  it  has  a  special  wall  around 
it  1,600  feet  long  on  the  west  side,  1,530  feet  on  the 

285 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

east  side,  1,024  feet  on  the  north,  922  feet  on  the 
south — without  a  permission  and  a  guard  from  the 
government.  So  we  had  to  secure  before  entering 
the  proper  permit,  a  detailed  officer  from  the  city 
poHce  force,  and  a  kawass,  or  soldier,  from  the  Amer- 
ican Consul  representing  the  United  States,  dressed  in 
full  Turkish  uniform  and  bearing  a  sword;  and  led 
by  these  defenders,  we  entered  the  inclosure. 

While  the  building  over  the  Dome  of  the  Rock  is 
called  the  Mosque  of  Omar  because  of  the  tradition 
that  he  built  it  w'hen  he  took  Jerusalem,  yet  it  was 
probably  built  by  the  Saracen  ruler  in  691  A.D.  The 
building  is  octagonal  in  shape,  each  side  having  a 
length  of  sixt}-six  feet.  The  lower  part  is  covered 
with  marble  slabs,  and  the  upper  part  with  richly  col- 
ored porcelain  tiles.  The  interior  is  175  feet  in  diam- 
eter. It  has  two  cloisters  separated  by  piers  and  col- 
umns which  are  marble  monoliths  and  differ  in  form, 
height,  and  color,  which  indicates  that  they  have  all 
been  taken  from  older  edifices.  By  large  Byzantine 
blocks  they  have  been  brought  to  the  same  height. 
Upon  the  second  series  of  supports,  consisting  of  four 
massive  piers  and  twelve  monolithic  columns,  rests  the 
dome,  which  is  ninety-eight  feet  high  and  sixty-six 
feet  in  diameter.  The  interior  of  the  building  is  dark, 
but  not  so  dark  as  to  destroy  the  richness  of  the  colors 
on  the  columns  and  the  decorations,  nor  the  brilliancy 
and  beauty  of  the  fifty-six  stained-glass  windows.  But 
all  else  loses  interest  before  the  bare,  rugged,  unhewn 
piece  of  rock,  fifty-eight  feet  long  and  forty-four  feet 
wide,  and  which  stands  four  and  a  half  feet  above  the 
surrounding  pavement.  There  is  strong  evidence  that 
here  was  the  great  altar  of  burnt  offering.    The  Mo- 

286 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

hammedans  have  a  legend  that  Mohammed  ascended 
to  heaven  from  this  rock,  and  that  when  he  did  so  it 
started  to  follow  him,  but  was  held  down  by  the  angel 
Gabriel,  whose  finger  prints  in  the  rock  are  shown. 
According  to  this  legend,  the  rock  has  remained  sus- 
pended in  the  air;  and  because  the  pilgrims  were 
afraid  it  might  fall  and  crush  them,  the  authorities 
had  supporting  walls  built,  and  that  left  a  hollow- 
sounding  cavern  underneath.  The  cave  under  the  rock 
is  reached  by  eleven  steps  on  the  south  side.  Excava- 
tions, when  they  are  permitted,  may  show  that  a  cis- 
tern is  under  the  rock.  In  the  cave  were  shown  places 
where  Abraham,  Elijah,  David,  Solomon,  and  Moham- 
med were  accustomed  to  pray.  Had  one  the  necessary 
amount  of  credulity,  he  might  see  and  hear  some  won- 
derful things  about  this  sacred  rock.  The  guide  insist- 
ed on  showing  us  the  footprint  of  Mohammed,  his 
banner,  some  of  his  beard,  and  a  marble  slab  in  which 
there  were  three  nails.  Formerly  there  were  nineteen 
nails,  but  the  devil  has  driven  sixteen  into  the  stone; 
and  when  the  rest  disappear,  the  world  will  come  to  an 
end. 

There  are  other  buildings  in  this  area,  but  they  have 
interest  only  as  places  of  Mohammedan  worship  and 
because  of  their  Mohammedan  legends.  The  Aksa 
]\Iosque,  which  is  two  hundred  and  sixty-four  feet 
long  and  one  hundred  and  eighty  feet  wide,  has  inter- 
est because  of  its  great  age.  It  is  claimed  that  God 
brought  Mohammed  from  Mecca  to  this  place  in  one 
night.  There  is  a  probability  that  this  was  originally  a 
basilica  erected  by  the  Emperor  Justinian.  The  inte- 
rior of  the  building,  with  its  nave  and  triple  aisles,  pre- 

287 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

sents  a  striking  appearance.  This  in  indeed  the  Mo- 
hammedan cathedral  of  Jerusalem.  While  visiting  the 
mosque,  a  funeral  procession  approached;  and  on  in- 
quiry, we  found  that  the  dead  man  was  no  less  a  per- 
son than  the  President  of  the  Mohammedan  congrega- 
tion of  Jerusalem.  The  bier  was  borne  on  the  shoul- 
ders of  men  who  changed  so  rapidly  that  no  man  could 
be  a  bearer  more  than  a  few  feet.  The  Syrians  have  a 
belief  that  they  can  expect  to  be  borne  to  a  grave  only 
if  they  aid  in  bearing  the  bodies  of  others.  So  if  a  fu- 
neral procession  passes,  the  laborers  in  the  street  will 
leave  their  work  long  enough  to  bear  for  a  few  feet  at 
least  the  body  of  the  dead,  whether  or  not  they  know 
who  the  dead  may  be.  The  professional  mourners 
were  in  evidence  just  as  at  the  time  of  our  Lord,  and 
their  wailings  were  distressing  in  the  extreme. 

The  south  side  of  the  Haram  rests  upon  massive 
vaulted  substructions  which  date  from  a  very  early 
period.  They  are  called  Solomon's  stables,  although 
they  may  have  been  erected  in  the  Arabian  period  on 
the  site  of  some  earlier  constructions.  At  the  time  of 
the  Crusades  the  Prankish  kings  and  Templars  used 
them  as  stables  for  their  horses.  The  stones  are  evi- 
dently ancient.  There  are  thirteen  galleries,  the  vault- 
ing of  which  is  borne  by  eighty-eight  piers  arranged 
in  twelve  parallel  rows.  They  extend  273  feet  from 
east  to  west,  and  198  feet  from  north  to  south.  The 
series  on  the  south  side  terminate  in  a  triple  gate, 
which  indicates  that  there  were  three  great  ways  com- 
ing up  from  Solomon's  palace  to  the  temple.  There 
are  various  passages  and  courses  here  which  have  not 
been  excavated.  While  exact  spots  cannot  with  cer- 
tainty be  pointed  out,  yet  one  may  be  sure  that  here 

288 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

he  stands  on  "the  Ophel,"  the  hill  of  Zion,  and  in  the 
center  of  the  "city  of  David."  Here  lived  and  wor- 
shiped the  great  kings  of  Israel  who  made  glorious 
the  record  of  the  chosen  people.  But  it  is  all  in  the 
hands  of  a  bigoted,  fanatical,  semibarbarous  race,  by 
whom  the  Jew  and  the  Christian  are  alike  despised. 
Near  the  southern  corner  of  the  west  wall  the  Jews 
assemble  daily  and  in  great  numbers  on  their  Sabbath 
and  cry  out  in  bitter  wails  for  the  rescue  of  their 
Jerusalem  from  the  Saracen's  hands. 

At  this  celebrated  wailing  place  of  the  Jews  the  wall 
is  sixty  feet  high,  and  the  part  exposed  is  150  feet 
long.  The  lower  courses  of  the  wall  consist  of  huge 
blocks,  and  the  manner  of  their  dressing  indicates 
their  great  age.  The  weeping  Jews  kiss  these  stones, 
thinking  that  they  belong  to  the  ancient  wall  about 
the  temple,  and  they  give  loud  expression  to  their  grief. 
The  men  will  sit  there  for  hours,  reading  their  He- 
brew prayer  books.  On  Friday  evening  they  chant 
the  following  litany.  The  leader  says,  "For  the  palace 
that  lies  desolate,"  and  the  people  respond,  "We  sit 
in  solitude  and  mourn."  The  leader,  "For  the  palace 
that  is  destroyed;"  response,  "We  sit  in  solitude  and 
mourn."  The  response  is  the  same  after  each  state- 
ment of  the  leader:  "For  the  walls  that  are  over- 
thrown," "For  our  majesty  that  is  departed,"  "For 
our  great  men  who  are  dead,"  'Tor  the  precious  stones 
that  are  burned,"  "For  the  priests  who  have  stum- 
bled," "For  our  kings  who  have  despised  Him."  An- 
other antiphony  is :  "We  pray  Thee,  have  mercy  on 
Zion."  Response :  "Gather  the  children  of  Jerusalem." 
Leader :  "Haste,  haste,  Redeemer  of  Zion."  Response: 
"Speak  to  the  heart  of  Jerusalem."  Leader:  "May 
19  289 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

beauty  and  majesty  surround  Zion !"  Response :  "Ah, 
turn  thyself  mercifully  to  Jerusalem!"  Leader:  "May 
the  kingdom  soon  return  to  Zion !"  Response :  "Com- 
fort those  who  mourn  over  Jerusalem."  Leader :  "May 
peace  and  joy  abide  with  Zion !"  Response :  "And  the 
branch  of  Jesse  spring  up  at  Jerusalem." 

One  can  scarcely  visit  a  place  in  Jerusalem  where 
his  sympathy  for  the  desolate  Jew  is  not  aroused.  The 
temple  area  and  the  adjoining  territory,  the  most 
sacred  place  in  the  world  to  the  Jews,  associated  as 
it  has  been  with  every  individual  and  event  that  had 
to  do  with  the  glory  of  Israel  and  the  establishment 
of  a  true  religion,  is  now  fanatically  held  by  the  fol- 
lowers of  Mohammed,  and  its  sacred  spots  have  been 
desecrated  by  the  legends  of  this  vicious  man  of  bat- 
tle. Travelers  must  be  guarded  not  only  in  this  sec- 
tion of  the  city,  but  also  in  that  portion  where  David 
is  reputed  to  be  buried.  A  visit  to  this  part  is  inter- 
esting, as  here  many  authorities  have  located  Mt.  Zion. 
It  is  near  where  the  poet  king  is  said  to  be  buried,  out- 
side the  present  Zion  Gate,  that  tradition  has  put  the 
house  of  Caiaphas  and  the  upper  room  of  the  last  sup- 
per and  the  scene  of  Pentecost,  and  here  Peter  denied 
his  Lord.  Here  also  is  the  site  of  the  house  of  John 
surnamed  Mark,  where  the  earliest  Christians  assem- 
bled. Here  now  are  the  burial  places  of  the  Arme- 
nians, the  Latins,  and  the  Greeks.  Adjoining  the 
building  which  covers  the  traditional  tomb  of  David 
is  the  church  which  is  built  on  the  plot  of  ground 
which  was  given  in  1898  by  the  Emperor  of  Germany 
to  the  Gertnan  Catholic  Society. 

But  I  was  glad  to  turn  from  this  section,  where  the 
usual  reverence  of  the  Moslems — here  manifested  for 

290 


THREE   JEWS    IN    JERUSALEM. 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

the  tomb  of  David — is  accompanied  by  outbreaks 
against  Jews  and  Christians.  I  went  to  the  Church 
of  St.  James,  the  old  convent  church  of  the  Armenians, 
which  contains  the  traditional  prison  where  James,  the 
brother  of  John,  was  beheaded  by  Herod.  I  saw  the 
three  stones  which  were  brought,  one  from  Mt,  Sinai, 
one  from  the  Jordan  where  the  Israelites  crossed,  and 
one  from  Mt.  Tabor,  the  scene  of  the  transfiguration. 
The  faithful  pilgrims  by  the  thousand  kiss  these  sacred 
stones.  From  here  I  went  into  the  dirt}^  ill-odorous 
section  of  the  Jews.  What  could  such  a  people  do 
with  Jerusalem  if  they  had  control  of  it?  They  are 
willing  to  live  in  dirt  and  employ  themselves  only  in 
petty  trading.  They  live  largely  by  the  gifts  of  the 
Jews  in  Europe  and  America.  If  Palestine  ever  blos- 
soms as  a  rose  under  the  labor  of  the  Jews,  a  new 
class  must  supplant  those  whom  I  saw.  The  Jew  has 
been  ever  since  the  days  of  Joshua  or  even  Abraham 
a  man  who  sought  a  land  of  milk  and  honey,  and  then 
went  in  and  took  it  from  those  who  had  made  it  val- 
uable. The  pioneering  that  would  be  necessary  to 
bring  Palestine  to  its  former  glory  will  likely  never 
be  done  by  the  Jews.  But  notwithstanding  the  filth 
and  the  narrow,  congested  streets,  one  felt  safe  in  the 
midst  of  this  inoffensive  people.  The  old  synagogue 
Was  especially  interesting,  as  I  had  never  before  seen 
the  priests  with  their  phylacteries  on  their  foreheads, 
nor  the  worshipers  sitting  in  the  sanctuary  with  their 
hats  on.  The  "sons  of  the  prophets"  were  studiously 
scanning  the  Talmud  and  giving  themselves  diligently 
to  the  search  of  the  Scriptures.  The  Benjaminites, 
with  their  long  locks  falling  down  by  their  ears,  were 
everywhere  in  evidence. 

291 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

While  no  other  city  in  the  world  could  have  the 
same  interest  to  a  Christian  or  even  a  Jew,  yet  a  long 
residence  there  would  hardly  be  desirable.  No  one 
who  has  breathed  the  free  air  of  America  and  Prot- 
estantism would  be  willing  to  endure  the  rule  of  the 
rough,  overbearing  Moslem,  nor  the  intolerance  of  the 
narrow,  dogmatical,  un-Christlike  Christian  sects.  The 
littleness,  selfishness,  and  prejudice  which  Jesus  con- 
demned in  those  who  were  his  contemporaries  are 
characteristics  of  the  people  who  to-day  occupy  Jeru- 
salem. To  find  the  sacredness  which  Paul,  Jesus, 
Hezekiah,  Solomon,  and  David  gave  to  the  ancient 
city  one  needs  to  clear  away  much  rubbish  and  push 
aside  the  profane  work  of  many  accumulating  cen- 
turies. Yet  there  is  glory  in  the  old  place  if  the  in- 
vestigator will  go  to  its  heart. 

292 


CHAPTER  XX. 
Bethlehem,  Hebron,  Jericho,  and  Jordan. 

BETHLEHEM  is  five  and  a  half  miles  south  of 
Jerusalem,  and  is  easily  reached  by  carriage,  as 
the  road  is  excellent.  Leaving  the  Jaffa  Gate,  the 
first  place  of  interest  after  crossing  the  Valley  of  Hin- 
nom  is  the  St.  John's  Eye  Hospital.  The  white  lime- 
stone dust  and  the  glaring  sun  make  eye  troubles  very 
common  in  Jerusalem  and  Palestine.  A  short  dis- 
tance from  the  hospital  on  the  east  side  is  the  Mount 
of  Evil  Counsel,  where  Judas  bargained  with  the 
Pharisees,  and  where  later  he  hung  himself.  Farther 
on  we  came  to  the  well  from  which  the  Magi  drank  on 
their  way  from  Jerusalem  to  Bethlehem.  Mary  also 
rested  here.  At  the  distance  of  three  miles  we  came  to 
the  summit  of  the  hill,  or  the  saddle  of  the  hill,  from 
which  one  looking  north  can  see  Jerusalem  and  looking 
south  can  see  Bethlehem.  On  the  left  of  the  road  is  a 
large  stone  in  which  is  a  depression  which,  tradition  has 
it,  was  caused  by  the  body  of  Elijah,  who  is  said  to 
have  slept  here  one  night.  Here  also  is  a  well  from 
which  the  Holy  Family  drank.  After  a  ten  minutes' 
drive  we  came  to  the  "Field  of  Peas,"  so  called  from 
the  legend  that  Christ  once  asked  a  man  what  he  was 
sowing,  to  which  he  replied :  "Stones."  The  field  pro- 
duced peas  of  stones,  and  some  of  them  are  still  there. 
Such  are  the  legends  one  finds  everywhere  in  Pales- 
tine. 

The  whole  district  about  Bethlehem  is  well  culti- 
293 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

vated.  The  hillsides  are  carefully  terraced,  the  olive 
orchards  show  that  they  have  been  well  cared  for, 
and  the  fields  indicate  that  they  are  in  the  hands  of 
an  industrious  people.  The  fact  is,  the  Bethlehemites 
are  the  most  industrious  people  to  be  found  in  Pales- 
tine. The  view  from  the  great  ridge  highway  was 
fascinating.  The  Dead  Sea  could  be  easily  seen.  As 
we  approached  Bethlehem  we  had  a  fine  view  of  the 
fields  of  Boaz  on  the  slopes  to  the  east  of  the  town, 
which  Ruth  gleaned  just  as  the  women  of  Syria  glean 
after  the  reapers  to-day.  The  tomb  of  Rachel  was 
reached  a  mile  and  a  half  from  Bethlehem.  We  were 
fortunate  in  finding  the  Jewish  priest  who  has  charge 
of  it  in  the  little  building  which  covers  the  tomb,  which 
is  revered  by  Moslems,  Jews,  and  Christians,  and 
which  is  in  all  probability  the  real  tomb  of  Jacob's 
much-loved  wife.  Just  beyond  the  tomb  the  road  di- 
vides, one  leading  to  Hebron  and  one  to  Bethlehem. 
On  the  west  of  the  main  road  lies  the  country  where 
Saul,  the  son  of  Kish,  was  reared.  We  turned  our 
faces  to  David's  town  of  Bethlehem,  which,  as  seen 
from  this  point,  is  exceedingly  picturesque,  situated 
on  a  hill  and  surrounded  by  rich  valleys  with  their 
vineyards,  olive  orchards,  fig  orchards,  and  fields  of 
golden  grain.  Here  one  is  able  to  see  what  cultiva- 
tion will  do  for  Palestine. 

Bethlehem  is  a  city  of  8,000  Christian  people,  with- 
out a  Jew  and  with  no  more  than  a  dozen  Moslems. 
It  is  the  cleanest  place  in  Palestine.  Our  business  in 
Bethlehem  was  to  see  the  Church  of  the  Nativity,  and 
to  that  we  went  at  once.  The  tradition  which  locates 
the  birthplace  of  Jesus  here  in  a  cavern  dates  back  to 
Justin  Martyr,  in  the  second  century.    I  have  no  rea- 

294 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

sons  for  not  accepting  this  tradition.  The  khan,  or 
inn,  is  usually  built  about  a  cave,  so  as  to  provide 
shelter  for  the  horses,  cattle,  and  sheep.  The  shep- 
herds usually  keep  their  flocks  in  caves  at  night,  that 
they  may  have  not  only  shelter,  but  also  that  they  may 
more  easily  be  protected  from  the  wolves  and  jackals. 
At  the  birth  of  Christ  "there  were  in  the  same  country 
shepherds  abiding  in  the  fields,  keeping  watch  over 
their  flock  by  night."  A  man  who  has  lived  in  Pales- 
tine eighteen  years  says  that  the  flocks  were  likely  in 
the  caves  when  the  shepherds  received  the  heavenly 
admonition  of  the  birth  of  the  Lord.  About  ten  min- 
utes from  the  place  of  the  Nativity  is  the  Field  of  the 
Shepherds,  in  the  middle  of  which  is  the  Grotto  of 
the  Shepherds.  But  the  chief  place  of  interest  is  the 
"manger"  in  which  the  Saviour  was  laid  because  there 
was  no  room  for  him  in  the  inn.  The  old  church, 
which  dates  back  almost  to  apostolic  times,  is  charac- 
terized by  a  beautiful  simplicity.  It  is  claimed  that 
Hadrian  destroyed  a  church  which  stood  on  this  sacred 
spot,  and  that  Constantine  erected  here  a  handsorae 
basilica.  It  seems  practically  certain  that  some  parts 
of  the  present  structure  belong  to  the  Justinian  period. 
The  Greeks,  the  Latins,  and  the  Armenians  have  built 
their  chapels  about  the  Chapel  of  the  Nativity,  which 
is  held  in  common.  The  Greeks  have  an  elegant  chap- 
el, and  the  Latins  have  just  erected  a  fine  church  and 
convent.  These  sects  are  fiercely  intolerant  of  each 
other,  and  Moslem  soldiers  stand  guard  day  and  night 
to  prevent  any  outbreak.  In  the  Chapel  of  the  Nativ- 
ity burn  fifteen  lamps,  of  which  six  belong  to  the 
Greeks,  five  to  the  Armenians,  and  four  to  the  Latins. 
These  are  counted  by  the  guards  each  time  there  is  a 

295 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

change  in  those  who  officiate  in  this  chapel.  As  I 
stood  in  that  sacred  place  where  the  Saviour  was  bom 
and  looked  upon  the  recess  where  the  manger  is  said 
to  have  been  and  realized  the  fearful  intolerance  of 
these  who  claim  to  be  followers  of  Him  who  was  an- 
nounced with  "good  will  toward  men,"  I  was  made  to 
feel  the  awful  sinfulness  of  human  religious  prejudice. 
Yet  I  realize  that  there  are  Protestants  who  exhibit  a 
similar  spirit  toward  those  who  do  not  accept  their 
beliefs  and  interpretations.  Are  these  keepers  of  the 
sacred  places  in  the  Holy  Land  Christians?  I  went 
away  from  the  Church  of  the  Nativity  asking  myself 
the  question:  "What  is  it  to  be  a  Christian?"  The 
Moslem  is  not  the  only  man  who  is  fanatical  in  his 
intolerance.  The  Jews  in  the  Master's  day  had  their 
Pharisaical  leaders.  Palestine  and  Rome  show  what 
Christians  may  become.  Protestantism  may  well  be  on 
its  guard. 

Eight  of  us  left  Jerusalem  one  morning  at  six 
o'clock  in  two  carriages,  and  reached  Hebron,  the  old 
home  of  Abraham,  after  a  drive  of  twenty-three  miles, 
at  ten  o'clock.  It  was  a  fine  drive  over  a  first-class 
road,  with  most  interesting  scenery  on  all  sides.  We 
had  gone  over  a  part  of  the  same  road  when  we  went  to 
Bethlehem ;  but  that  is  a  road  which  one  would  be  glad 
to  travel  once  a  week,  across  the  beautiful  Plains  of  Re- 
phaim,  where  David  fought  the  Philistines,  over  the 
hill  from  which  one  can  see  Jerusalem  and  Bethlehem, 
and  along  that  superb  highway  from  which  one  gets 
such  splendid  views  of  the  fields  of  Boaz,  the  pictur- 
esque hills  of  the  city  of  the  Nativity,  and  the  charm- 
ing site  of  Zelah,  the  birthplace  of  Saul.     The  olive 

296 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

and  fig  orchards  and  fruit  gardens  of  the  Bethlehem 
community  were  even  more  beautiful  on  the  second 
visit  than  on  the  first. 

About  two  miles  beyond  Bethlehem  we  came  to 
Solomon's  Pools,  situated  in  a  valley  at  the  back  of 
an  old  castle,  and  which  serve  as  a  reservoir  for  the 
old  aqueduct  that  leads  to  Jerusalem.  The  pools  are 
three  reservoirs  standing  on  different  levels,  the  one 
draining  into  the  other.  The  upper  pool  is  381  feet 
long  by  228  feet  wide  by  25  feet  deep.  The  middle 
pool  is  423  feet  by  159  feet  by  38  feet  deep.  The  low- 
est and  largest  is  582  feet  by  148  feet  by  48  feet  deep. 
These  reservoirs  are  hewn  in  the  rock  and  lined  with 
masonry.  About  2(X)  feet  above  the  upper  pool  is  a 
fountain  from  which  the  water  is  conducted  to  the 
pools  by  an  underground  aqueduct.  It  is  thought  by 
some  that  this  fountain  is  fed  by  an  artesian  basin. 
In  the  Songs  of  Solomon  we  have  the  statement:  "I 
made  me  gardens  and  orchards,  and  I  planted  trees. 
.  .  .  I  made  me  pools  of  water."  From  this  pas- 
sage many  would  prove  that  Solomon's  Pools  were 
made  by  Solomon,  and  the  guides  and  conductors  of 
tourists  will  insist  that  they  were  without  doubt  made 
by  his  order;  but  George  Adam  Smith  says  that  the 
two  lower  pools  were  likely  made  by  Herod,  and  the 
upper  by  some  ruler  in  the  preceding  century,  and  that 
there  is  no  evidence  that  any  of  them  were  built  be- 
fore the  exile.  But  they  are  great  and  ancient  reser- 
voirs, and  have  served  Jerusalem  for  two  thousand 
years.  Some  years  ago  Baroness  Burdett-Coutts  of- 
fered to  repair  the  aqueduct  and  restore  it  to  Jerusa- 
lem, which  would  have  cost  her  about  $250,000;  but 

297 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

the  Turkish  officials,  true  to  their  character,  actually 
demanded  a  bribe  or  backsheesh,  as  they  do  when  any 
house  or  public  improvements  are  put  up,  before  they 
would  permit  this  benevolent  woman  to  do  this  benevo- 
lent act  for  the  benefit  of  the  people  of  Jerusalem. 
The  baroness  became  justly  indignant  and  withdrew 
the  proposition.  This  is  but  another  illustration  of 
the  contemptible  character  of  the  Turk. 

The  journey  from  Solomon's  Pools  is  not  particu- 
larly interesting,  as  the  cultivated  area  is  limited  and 
the  hills  are  rugged  and  barren.  We  saw  the  place 
where  Jonah  is  said  to  have  been  buried,  and  we 
stopped  a  moment  at  the  spring  where  Philip  baptized 
the  eunuch,  and  visited  some  fine  rock  tombs  and  large 
caverns  near  the  spring.  Immersion  at  this  place 
would  have  been  practically  impossible.  If  the  run- 
ning streams  were  as  few  in  the  days  of  the  apostles 
as  they  are  now,  the  immersionists  were  compelled  to 
go  to  the  river  Jordan  or  use  a  pool.  The  baptistry  is 
truly  apostolic  if  the  immersionists'  contention  is  cor- 
rect. But  this  aside;  Plebron  is  the  subject.  There 
is  no  hotel  in  that  town  of  20,000  people ;  but  that  did 
not  disturb  us,  as  we  had  our  lunch  with  us,  which 
we  ate  in  the  home  of  the  American  missionary,  whose 
kindness  we  greatly  appreciated,  and  whose  observa- 
tions were  quite  illuminating.  Before  doing  so  we 
visited  the  cave  of  Machpelah,  which  was  purchased 
by  Abraham  from  the  sons  of  Heth.  and  in  which  were 
buried  Abraham,  Sarah,  Isaac,  Rebekah,  Jacob,  Leah, 
and  also,  the  Moslems  say,  Joseph.  The  Christians  put 
Joseph's  tom.b  near  Jacob's  well  by  Sychar.  We  did 
not  see  the  cave  or  the  tombs  because  the  fanatical,  un- 

298 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

lovable  Mohammedans  would  not  allow  us.  Except- 
ing the  tomb  of  Mohammed  and  the  black  stone  at 
Mecca,  the  tomb  of  Abraham  is  the  most  sacred  place 
in  all  the  Islam  world.  The  tomb  is  inclosed  with  a 
large  mosque  with  high  walls  about  it,  220  feet  by 
159  feet.  Within  are  dervishes,  saints  (  ?),  and  guard- 
ians. We  were  allowed  to  ascend  only  five  steps  of 
the  twenty  or  thirty  that  lead  to  the  shrine.  Only  two 
Christians  have  ever  entered  this  place,  so  we  were 
told — one  the  present  King  of  England  when  he  was 
Prince  of  Wales,  and  that  probably  because  Turkey  is 
continually  under  obligation  to  England.  But  back- 
sheesh will  work  wonders,  and  a  letter  from  the  Gov- 
ernor of  Jerusalem  will  be  regarded.  We  ascended 
the  hill  behind  the  building  and  secured  a  good  view 
of  the  top  of  the  mosque.  In  reality  we  could  have 
seen  very  little  of  real  interest  for  Christians  had 
we  entered,  for  these  patriarchs  have  long  since  gone 
into  the  finest  dust.  So  we  lost  nothing  and  gained 
in  our  righteous  contempt  for  the  Moslem.  All 
through  the  streets  we  had  to  have  a  guard  to  prevent 
boys  from  pelting  us  with  stones.  There  are  no  Chris- 
tians and  only  1,500  Jews  in  the  place.  The  mission- 
aries have  fifty  children  in  their  schools ;  but  the  con- 
verts from  Mohammedanism  in  Hebron  are  unknown, 
and  they  are  almost  unknown  in  Palestine.  The  Prot- 
estant missionaries  have  had  in  some  places  converts 
from  the  orthodox  Greeks,  and  the  Roman  Catholics 
have  made  a  few  converts  from  the  Greeks;  but  that 
is  about  the  extent  of  the  results  so  far  of  missionary 
labors  in  that  land. 

Hebron  will  always  have  interest  as  the  ancient  Kir- 
299 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

jath-arba,  the  home  and  burial  place  of  the  patriarchs, 
and  as  one  of  the  cities  of  refuge  which  were  given 
the  sons  of  Aaron.  Here  David  was  first  made  king, 
reigned  seven  and  one-half  years,  and  was  anointed 
king  of  Israel.  Here  Absalom  had  himself  proclaimed 
king,  and  here  we  saw  the  pool  over  which  David's 
young  men  hung  the  murderers  of  Ish-bosheth,  the 
son  of  Saul.  This  pool  is  84  feet  long,  54  feet  wide, 
and  27  feet  deep;  and  about  it  were  gathered  crowds 
of  idlers,  and  in  it  splashed  swim.ming  boys,  while 
from  it  water  was  taken  in  jars  for  use  in  the  homes. 
The  glass  manufactories  are  usually  visited  by  tour- 
ists. Here  bottles  are  made  which  pilgrims  and  some 
natives  buy  to  protect  them  from  the  evil  one ;  but  the 
largest  output  is  in  glass  bracelets,  which  are  worn 
throughout  Palestine.  Water  bottles  from  goatskins 
are  also  made  here  in  large  numbers.  The  town  is 
unattractive,  as  it  is  a  mass  of  masonry  with  narrow, 
dirty  streets  and  with  no  verdure  anywhere.  But  the 
old  town  is  interesting,  as  we  know  that  it  stands  upon 
the  same  site  which  it  held  in  the  days  of  Abraham, 
and  it  has  escaped  the  ravages  of  war.  The  fields 
round  about  were  given  to  Caleb  for  his  inheritance. 
We  went  out  into  the  Vale  of  Eshcol  and  saw  the  vine- 
yards from  which  to-day  are  taken  bunches  of  grapes 
eighteen  inches  long  and  which  weigh  eight  to  ten 
pounds.  We  visited  the  old  oak  of  Mamre,  the  tradi- 
tional oak  of  Abraham.  It  is  twenty-six  feet  in  girth, 
shows  its  great  age,  and  is  beginning  to  decline. 
It  will  in  a  few  years  fall,  and  the  young  tree  by  its 
side  must  in  the  future  centuries  take  its  place,  as  it 
perhaps  has  taken  the  place  of  another  which  once  held 

300 


GOING  TO   MARKET  IN   PALESTINE. 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

the  honor  of  sheltering  the  father  of  the  faithful.  A 
day  in  Hebron  and  its  charming  vicinity  was  most  de- 
lightfully spent,  and  the  return  to  Jerusalem  in  the 
evening  was  made  in  the  glow  of  fond  recollections. 

We  left  Jerusalem  for  Jericho  early  in  the  morning 
and  drove — as  do  all  others  who  go  to  Jericho,  as 
there  is  no  other  way — around  the  north  side  of  the 
wall  past  the  Damascus  and  Herod  Gates,  down  the 
steep  hill  into  the  Valley  of  Jehoshaphat  or  the  Val- 
ley of  the  Kidron,  down  the  valley  to  the  cross- 
ing of  the  ravine,  over  by  the  Garden  of  Geth- 
semane,  ^nd  round  the  south  side  of  the  Mount  of 
Olives.  From  that  hillside  we  had  a  fine  view  of  the 
Pools  of  Siloam,  the  place  of  Solomon's  palace,  the 
field  of  blood  bought  by  Judas,  the  Hill  of  Evil  Coun- 
sel (where  the  Master  was  sold),  and  the  Valley  of 
Hinnom.  The  whole  mountain  side  is  covered  with 
graves.  On  the  south  side  of  the  Mount  of  Olives  we 
began  to  skirt  the  deep  ravine  that  leads  from  Jerusa- 
lem to  the  desert  about  Jericho.  On  the  east  side  of 
the  Mount  of  Olives  we  came  into  the  village  that 
covers  the  site  of  ancient  Bethany.  On  our  return 
we  stopped  here  for  an  hour  and  visited  the  tomb  of 
Lazarus,  the  traditional  site  of  the  home  of  Mary  and 
Martha,  and  the  house  of  Simon  the  leper,  where 
Mary  washed  the  Master's  feet  with  her  tears  and 
dried  them  with  her  hair.  Lazarus  may  never  have 
lain  in  the  tomb  into  which  we  went,  and  the  two  sis- 
ters may  have  had  their  home  in  another  plot  of 
ground ;  but  here  in  this  locality,  with  these  rugged 
hills  and  narrow  valleys,  the  friends  of  Jesus  evidently 
lived,  and  there  is  a  sacrednes^  in  the  place  which  time 

301 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

does  not  affect.  The  Moslems  have  made  Lazarus  one 
of  their  saints,  and  have  built  a  mosque  in  the  commu- 
nity to  his  memory.  Beyond  Bethany  a  short  distance 
stands  a  Greek  chapel  in  which  is  a  stone  which  marks 
the  spot  where  Martha  met  Jesus  when  she  told  him  of 
her  brother's  death. 

"Jordan  is  a  hard  road  to  travel"  if  one  is  coming 
to  Jerusalem,  as  it  is  all  uphill;  but  going  from  Jeru- 
salem to  Jericho  is  all  downhill,  a  distance  of  fifteen 
miles.  Jerusalem  is  2,550  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
sea,  and  the  Dead  Sea  is  1,300  feet  below  the  level  of 
the  Mediterranean  Sea ;  so  the  declivity  amounts  to  3,- 
850  feet,  or  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile.  It  is 
downhill  all  the  way  except  a  short  rise  as  one  ap- 
proaches the  Samaritan  Inn.  The  government  has 
built  a  fine  carriage  road,  and  the  hotel  men  and  tour- 
ists' agents  of  Jerusalem  keep  it  in  good  repair.  It  is 
cheaper  to  repair  the  roads  than  their  vehicles.  The 
country  is  rugged  and  rough,  there  being  no  vineyards 
or  gardens  and  only  occasional  fields  of  grain  and  len- 
tils. There  are  good  herds  of  sheep  and  goats.  There 
are  no  villages  along  the  way,  and  the  Apostles'  Spring 
and  the  Samaritan  Inn  furnish  the  only  stopping 
places.  The  spring  took  its  name  from  the  tradition 
that  the  apostles  drank  here,  and  the  new  inn  from 
the  belief  that  here  stood  the  inn  where  the  Samaritan 
left  the  man  referred  to  in  the  parable.  This  wild 
country  has  always  been  infested  by  robbers,  and 
to-day  no  traveling  party  is  safe  from  the  attacks  of 
Bedouins  unless  a  Bedouin  guard  has  been  secured 
to  accompany  the  party.  The  Bedouins  of  that  sec- 
tion are  now  under  the  control  of  a  rich  sheik,  and  he 

302 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 


insures  protection  if  one  of  his  men  is  employed.  Our 
Bedouin  was  paid  a  good  fee;  but  when  he  bade  us 
good-by  on  our  return,  he  insisted  on  shaking  hands 
with  the  men  of  the  party,  and  he  hngered  until  each 
one  deposited  in  his  hand  an  extra  shilling  as  back- 
sheesh. 

The  road  beyond  the  Samaritan  Inn  became  steeper 
and  rougher  the  farther  we  went.  The  hills  about  us 
became  more  rugged.  At  a  certain  point  the  carriages 
were  stopped,  and  the  passengers  got  out  and  walked 
up  to  the  edge  of  a  great  gorge  several  hundred  feet 
deep  and  sublime  in  its  ruggedness.  This  was  the 
channel  of  the  Brook  Cherith,  and  the  crag  pointed 
out  was  the  reputed  resting  place  of  the  prophet 
Elijah  when  he  was  fed  by  the  ravens.  We  drove  a 
mile  or  so  farther,  and  then  the  declivity  became  so 
great  and  the  road  so  dangerous  that  we  stepped  from 
the  carriage  and  completed  the  journey  down  to  the 
plains  on  foot.  But  it  was  from  this  point  that  we 
had  an  unusual  view.  The  plain  of  the  Jordan 
stretched  out  before  us  like  a  map.  On  the  southern 
end  was  the  smooth  blue  water  of  the  Dead  Sea.  At 
our  feet  were  the  sites  of  ancient  Jericho.  In  the  plain 
was  a  tree  which  marked  the  site  of  the  ancient  Gilgal, 
where  the  Israelites  first  camped  on  this  side  of  the 
Jordan,  where  the  last  manna  fell,  where  the  taber- 
nacle was  set  up,  where  Samuel  judged  the  people, 
where  Saul  was  made  king,  and  where  he  disobeyed 
God  and  lost  his  kingdom.  Beyond  was  the  cluster  of 
green  shrubbery  that  traced  the  course  of  the  Jordan, 
and  beyond  the  Jordan  were  the  mountains  of  Moab 
and  Gilead,  with  the  peaks  of  Nebo  and  Pisgah  promi- 

303 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

nent  on  the  sky  line.  Jesus  came  down  this  rugged 
hill  when  he  went  to  the  Jordan  to  be  baptized,  and 
all  who  came  and  went  between  Jerusalem  and  Jericho 
and  the  country  beyond  Jordan  were  forced  to  make 
their  way  up  this  same  depression  through  which  we 
had  come.  The  Arabian  hosts  that  swept  up  from  the 
desert  always  came  over  this  road.  While  we  stood 
looking  out  upon  the  plain  and  the  desert  beyond,  we 
had  only  to  look  behind  us  to  see  the  tower  that  crowns 
the  Mount  of  Olives. 

Entering  the  plain,  we  came  to  the  site  of  the  Jeri- 
cho of  Herod,  which  was  the  Jericho  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament. Here  is  now  a  pool  564  feet  by  471  feet  which 
formerly  belonged  to  a  system  of  conduits  which  once 
irrigated  this  district  and  made  it  a  paradise.  The 
date  palm,  the  pomegranate,  the  orange,  and  other 
tropical  fruits  grew  luxuriantly  in  the  plain.  As  Jeri- 
cho is  820  feet  below  the  level  of  the  sea,  the  climate 
is  always  warm,  and  after  May  i  it  is  exceedingly  hot 
and  enervating.  Mark  Antony  presented  this  district 
to  Cleopatra,  and  she  gave  it  or  sold  it  to  Herod,  who 
embellished  it  with  palaces  and  made  it  his  winter 
residence.  He  died  here.  From  his  palace  he  could 
see  the  prison  of  Machgerus,  some  twelve  miles  away 
on  the  east  shore  of  the  Dead  Sea,  in  which  John  the 
Baptist  was  imprisoned  and  where  he  was  murdered  to 
satisfy  the  whim  of  his  niece  and  stepdaughter.  In 
twenty  minutes  we  were  in  the  little  village  of  the  pres- 
ent Jericho,  with  its  squalid  hovels  and  its  three  hun- 
dred dirty,  lazy,  degenerate  inhabitants.  We  found 
comfortable  rooms  in  the  hotel  with  a  Greek  proprietor, 
but  the  food  and  water  which  we  ate  and  drank  had 

304 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

been  sent  down  the  evening  before  by  the  proprietor 
of  our  hotel  in  Jerusalem.  However,  before  we  ate 
we  drove  out  a  mile  to  the  spring  where  Elisha  "went 
forth  to  the  spring  of  the  waters,  and  cast  salt  in 
there.  ...  So  the  waters  were  healed  unto  this 
day."  By  an  aqueduct  the  water  from  this  spring 
is  carried  to  all  parts  of  the  village,  and  by  it  Jericho 
and  its  gardens  are  made  an  oasis  in  the  desert.  A 
few  yards  north  of  the  spring  is  the  reputed  site  of 
the  Jericho  whose  walls  fell  when  Joshua  and  his  hosts 
blew  the  rams'  horns.  During  the  last  year,  by  the 
permission  of  the  Turkish  government,  scientific  ex- 
plorers have  done  some  excavating  in  this  mound 
which  has  been  pointed  out  for  many  centuries  as  the 
site  of  the  ancient  city.  Most  gratifying  results  have 
already  been  obtained.  Fallen  walls  have  been  found, 
and  the  mud  bricks  are  declared  to  be  of  Canaanitish 
origin.  The  explorers  are  inclined  to  believe  fully 
that  this  is  really  the  old  city  wall  which  Joshua  at- 
tacked after  entering  the  land  of  Canaan.  The  re- 
ligious world  will  await  with  great  interest  the  con- 
clusions of  these  archaeological  explorers.  A  visit  to 
the  spring  and  these  excavations  with  the  exposed  an- 
cient walls  impresses  the  tourist  that  he  is  looking  on 
scenes  of  early  Bible  times. 

The  three  hours'  rest  in  the  hotel  in  the  middle  of 
that  extremely  hot  day  was  altogether  too  quickly 
passed;  but  as  we  wanted  to  visit  the  Dead  Sea  and 
the  Jordan  and  spend  some  time  at  each  place  and  then 
get  back  to  the  hotel  by  seven  o'clock,  it  was  neces- 
sary to  begin  our  journey  by  three  o'clock,  as  it  is 
some  six  or  seven  miles  across  the  plains  to  the  Dead 
80  ?05 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

Sea  and  there  is  no  road.  The  traveler  who  gets 
caught  by  a  heavy  rain  in  this  plain  will  have  great 
trouble  in  continuing  his  journey,  as  the  sand,  with 
its  mixture  of  salt  and  gypsum,  makes  a  mud  with- 
out a  bottom.  But  we  had  no  fear  of  rain  that  day; 
and  after  passing  the  tower  which  marks  the  site  of 
the  sycamore  tree  that  Zaccheus  climbed  that  he  might 
see  Jesus,  we  took  direct  line  across  the  sandy  desert 
to  the  Dead  Sea.  In  an  hour  we  were  on  its  shore, 
and  in  a  few  minutes  some  of  us  were  enjoying  a 
bath  and  a  swim  in  its  oily,  bitter,  briny  waters.  Sink- 
ing was  impossible ;  but  swimming  was  difficult,  as  the 
feet  were  greatly  inclined  to  seek  the  surface,  while 
the  head,  with  its  bones,  was  drawn  to  the  water. 
One  can  lie  on  the  back  and  float  without  any  trouble. 
The  water  contains  twenty-five  per  cent  solid  sub- 
tance,  seven  of  which  is  common  salt.  The  chloride 
of  magnesium  gives  it  the  nauseous,  bitter  taste,  while 
the  chloride  of  calcium  makes  it  smooth  and  oily  to  the 
touch.  Fresh  eggs  float  with  one-third  above  the  sur- 
face. There  is  no  kind  of  life  in  the  sea,  and  even 
sea  fish  will  die  speedily.  The  Dead  Sea  is  forty-seven 
miles  long,  with  its  greatest  breadth  ten  miles.  It  is 
hemmed  in  by  sharp,  precipitous  mountains  as  far  as 
the  eye  can  see  from  the  northern  end.  A  small  steam 
yacht  is  now  used  on  its  waters  by  the  company  which 
has  a  large  salt  factory  on  its  shore.  A  large  amount 
of  salt  is  extracted  from  its  water  every  year.  The 
mouth  of  the  Jordan  is  about  three-fourths  of  a  mile 
from  where  tourists  usually  visit  the  lake.  After  a 
two-mile  drive,  we  came  to  the  ford  of  the  Jordan 
where  the  Israelites  are  supposed  to  have  crossed  into 

306 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

Canaan,  and  where  Elijah  divided  the  waters  by  the 
stroke  of  his  mantle.  Here  also  it  has  been  claimed 
that  Jesus  was  baptized,  although  many  students  of 
the  land  put  that  place  farther  north.  It  is  here  that 
the  pilgrims  come  for  their  bath  in  the  Jordan.  The 
stream  is  not  more  than  one  hundred  feet  wide  and 
about  ten  to  twenty  feet  deep,  but  it  has  a  treacherous 
current,  and  many  persons  have  lost  their  lives  in  try- 
ing to  swim  across  it.  The  water  has  a  yellowish- 
brown  color  and  a  peculiar  taste.  It  contains  numer- 
ous fish.  Its  banks  are  covered  with  tamarisks,  wil- 
lows, and  poplars.  In  the  rainy  season  the  stream 
overflows  its  banks.  Were  the  Jordan  and  the  Dead 
Sea  disappointing  ?  No.  A  more  interesting,  instruct- 
ive, and  enjoyable  trip  one  can  scarcely  have.  We 
turned  our  faces  toward  Jericho  with  a  song  of  praise 
in  all  our  hearts.  We  passed  near  the  Monastery  of 
St.  John  the  Baptist  and  through  the  site  of  ancient 
Gilgal.  We  looked  to  the  abrupt,  rugged  mountain 
behind  Jericho  and  a  little  to  the  northwest,  and  there 
was  the  reputed  place  of  the  temptation,  in  which  is 
a  grotto  where  Jesus  is  said  to  have  spent  his  forty 
days.  We  saw  on  the  roadside  the  sidr  tree,  the  thorns 
of  which  were  made  into  the  crown  that  the  crucified 
One  wore.  We  saw  also  a  hyena  lurking  in  the  bushes 
in  a  ravine.  The  Bedouins  in  their  tents  were  con- 
spicuous in  several  places.  We  came  to  Jericho  as 
the  red  sun  bade  us  his  day's  farewell,  and  we  found 
rest  for  our  weary  bodies.  We  were  on  our  way  to 
Jerusalem  at  four  o'clock  the  next  morning,  and  by 
noon  we  were  at  home  after  one  of  the  most  memora- 
ble journeys  of  a  lifetime. 

307 


CHAPTER  XXI. 
From  Jerusalem  to  the  Sea  of  Galilee. 

FROM  Jerusalem  to  Nazareth  the  distance  in  an 
air  line  is  about  sixty-five  miles,  but  by  the  road 
and  the  trail  it  is  not  far  from  eighty.  There  is 
a  good  carriage  road  as  far  as  Lubban,  about  twenty 
miles  from  Jerusalem ;  but  the  rest  of  the  journey 
must  be  made  on  horseback  or  on  camels.  We  made 
the  trip  to  Lubban  in  four  hours,  and  there  we  took 
horses  (Arabian  steeds  they  were,  although  they  re- 
sembled Texas  ponies)  and  proceeded  to  Nablus,  the 
old  city  of  Shechem,  where  we  spent  the  night.  The 
next  day  we  covered  the  distance  from  Nablus  to 
Jenin,  and  the  third  day  we  arrived  in  Nazareth  soon 
after  noon.  Three  days  of  more  difficult  and  exhaust- 
ing travel  none  of  us  ever  want  to  see,  and  yet  the 
entire  journey  was  so  crowded  with  exciting  interest 
that  we  scarcely  felt  the  fatigue  until  we  halted  for 
the  rest;  but  then  the  weary  joints  and  strained  mus- 
cles made  due  complaints  to  which  we  were  com- 
pelled to  listen. 

Our  carriage,  containing  four  tourists,  the  drago- 
man, and  the  driver,  left  Jerusalem  at  six  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  passed  the  Tomb  of  the  Kings  north- 
west of  the  city,  and  then  turned  north  over  Mount 
Scopus,  the  mountain  on  which  Titus  and  his  army 
camped  when  besieging  the  city,  and  from  which  one 
gets  in  the  morning  hours  a  glorious  view  of  Jerusa- 

308 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

lem  nestled  among  the  hills.  In  a  few  minutes  we 
passed  Nob,  where  David  took  the  showbread,  and 
then  Gibeah,  where  Saul  tarried  when  Jonathan  made 
his  raid.  Here  are  the  ruins  of  a  large  building  which 
was  probably  erected  by  the  Crusaders.  After  two 
miles,  on  our  left  we  saw  the  ruins  that  mark  the  site 
of  Mizpeh,  where  Samuel  judged  the  people  of  Israel. 
In  less  than  two  hours  we  reached  Ramah  of  Benja- 
min, where  Samuel  was  born  and  buried.  It  now  has 
about  fifteen  families.  In  a  half  hour  we  came  to 
Atarath  Addar,  which  marked  Ephraim's  border  line. 
After  crossing  a  ridge  which  forms  the  watershed  be- 
tween the  Mediterranean  and  the  Jordan,  we  came  to 
Beeroth,  a  village  of  t,ooo  people,  nine  and  a  half 
miles  from  Jerusalem,  which  is  supposed  to  be  the 
place  where  Joseph  and  Mary  missed  Jesus  when  he 
was  among  the  doctors.  The  country  here  is  very 
beautiful,  the  fig  trees  and  olive  trees  are  numerous, 
and  the  vineyards  are  luxuriant. 

At  a  distance  of  nineteen  miles  from  Jerusalem,  on 
a  hill  to  the  right,  is  the  site  of  ancient  Bethel,  where 
Jacob  had  his  vision  and  where  Jeroboam  set  up 
shrines  for  idolatrous  worship.  The  stone  which  Jacob 
used  as  a  pillow  is,  according  to  tradition,  the  stone 
which  is  in  the  seat  of  the  coronation  chair  in  West- 
minster Abbey,  on  which  every  ruler  of  England  since 
Edward  I.  has  sat  when  receiving  the  crown  of  En- 
gland. This  stone  is  said  to  have  been  taken  to  Ire- 
land by  early  Christian  missionaries,  and  then  to  Scot- 
land, where  it  was  used  in  the  throne  of  the  Scottish 
kings  for  centuries;  and  then  finally,  in  the  reign  of 
Edward  the  Confessor,  it  was  taken  to  London,  where 

309 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

it  has  since  remained,  and  where  it  may  be  seen  by  any 
visitor  to  Westminster  Abbey.  Bethel  occupies  a  con- 
spicuous place,  the  hill  on  which  it  stands  rising  sev- 
eral hundred  feet  above  the  plain.  There  are  several 
ancient  tombs,  marble  columns,  pieces  of  dressed 
stones,  some  with  inscriptions  and  others  with  evi- 
dences of  elaborate  carving;  and  near  the  summit  is 
a  circle  of  large  blocks  of  stone,  where,  the  Moslems 
say,  Jeroboam  built  his  shrines.  But  this  well-authen- 
ticated spot  has  not  been  marked  by  the  Christians  as 
have  other  places  in  Palestine. 

Shiloh  is  about  an  hour's  ride  from  Bethel  and  on 
the  right  of  the  highway.  No  place  in  Palestine  was 
more  closely  connected  with  the  religious  life  of  the 
Israelites  than  Shiloh.  Here  the  tribes  received  their 
allotments,  here  the  sanctuary  was  set  up,  here  Samuel 
was  called,  here  Eli  died,  here  Abijah  lived,  here  the 
prophets  were  trained.  The  Mohammedans  have  here 
a  small  mosque,  but  the  Christians  have  built  no  mon- 
uments to  designate  this  sacred  place;  but  all  visitors 
to  Palestine  will  visit  Shiloh  with  great  interest.  Only 
a  short  distance  farther  and  we  came  to  Lubban,  the 
ancient  Labonah,  where  the  carriage  road  ends  and 
where  we  mounted  our  horses  for  the  long  sixty-mile 
ride  to  Nazareth.  The  horses  were  not  good  travelers, 
and  the  small  English  saddles  were  not  satisfactory  for 
a  long,  hard  journey.  Although  the  horses  were  shod 
with  a  steel  shoe  which  covered  the  entire  foot,  yet 
they  were  sure-footed  in  climbing  the  rocky  hills  and 
in  making  their  way  through  the  narrow  defiles  which 
were  not  unusual  in  crossing  the  various  mountain 
ranges.    It  was  here,  after  crossing  a  high  range  of 

310 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

hills,  that  we  entered  the  beautiful  rich  plain  of  Mukh- 
nah.  We  passed  near  the  disputed  tombs  of  Eleazar 
and  Phinehas.  At  the  end  of  our  journey  across  the 
plain  we  came  to  Jacob's  Well,  one  of  the  well-authen- 
ticated spots  in  Palestine.  The  broad,  fertile  plain 
was  covered  with  ripe,  golden  grain  or  with  plots  of 
potatoes  or  other  vegetable  products.  There  were 
some  spots  that  were  not  being  cultivated,  as  they  were 
left  idle  for  rest.  There  were  no  fences  anywhere; 
but  the  great  fields  were  divided  into  small  plots  by 
rows  of  heaps  of  stones  which  are  known  in  the  Bible 
as  landmarks,  and  which  could  be  removed  only  by 
incurring  curses.  The  lands  for  the  most  part  do  not 
belong  to  individuals,  but  to  the  villages.  All  the  peo- 
ple live  in  villages  for  convenience,  company,  and  pro- 
tection. At  a  certain  time  of  the  year  the  lands  be- 
longing to  a  village  are  distributed  for  the  year  to 
the  various  families  of  the  village,  and  a  family  must 
cultivate  its  allotment  for  the  year  or  else  have  no 
farm.  Sometimes  it  happens  that  a  family  will  have 
a  very  fertile  strip  of  land  for  one  year,  and  the  next 
year  the  same  family  may  get  the  poorest  strip.  A 
man  may  move  from  his  native  village  to  another, 
and  he  may  sell  his  right  in  the  village  for  a  number 
of  years ;  but  he  cannot  sell  the  land.  The  village  may 
sell  its  land,  as  some  villages  have  done,  to  rich  in- 
dividuals who  now  are  getting  large  land  interests  in 
Palestine;  but  the  sale  is  not  easily  consummated,  as 
there  are  so  many  people  to  be  consulted.  The  vil- 
lages often  have  their  farm  products  in  common,  and 
large  village  granaries  may  be  seen  in  the  town.  The 
private  granaries  are  usually  in  the  homes,  and  the 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

women  draw  out  at  will  what  grain  they  need  for 
grinding.  The  women  do  practically  all  the  grinding 
in  their  private  apartments  or  courts.  One  stone  lies 
on  another;  the  upper  stone  has  a  hole  in  the  center, 
through  which  the  grain  is  poured,  and  a  handle  some 
ten  inches  long,  which  is  driven  in  a  hole  near  the  rim ; 
and  by  this  handle  two  women  sitting  on  the  ground 
turn  the  upper  stone  and  grind  the  grain.  The 
meal  runs  out  at  a  groove  on  one  side  into  a  basin. 
The  picture  of  the  last  day  as  given  by  Matthew,  "The 
two  women  grinding  at  the  mill,  one  taken  and  the 
other  left,"  would  have  the  same  meaning  in  Palestine 
to-day  as  in  the  days  of  Jesus.  "When  the  sound  of 
the  grinding  is  low,"  it  is  night  or  there  is  sorrow  or 
distress,  and  at  all  other  times  there  is  the  constant 
murmur  of  the  mill  in  every  home.  Why  do  they  not 
have  steam  mills  as  the  people  of  Europe  and  America  ? 
Who  can  answer  the  whys  of  Palestine  or  the  Orient? 
Jacob's  Well  is  in  an  open  field ;  but  recently  it  has 
been  inclosed  by  some  Greek  priests,  who  have  an 
altar  at  the  cistern.  An  old  basilica,  which  was  prob- 
ably erected  in  the  fourth  century,  once  covered  the 
cistern;  and  remains  of  the  old  sanctuary,  with  its 
columns,  are  quite  numerous.  As  soon  as  we  ap- 
proached the  well  the  priests  rushed  from  their  clois- 
ters into  the  crypt  of  the  Crusaders'  Chapel,  which 
now  covers  the  opening,  and  began  reciting  their 
prayers  or  else  (I  did  not  understand  what  they  said, 
and  was  not  sorry  that  I  could  not).  One  lighted  a 
candle  and  let  it  down  some  sixty  to  seventy  feet.  The 
cistern  is  lined  with  masonry,  and  is  seven  and  one- 
half  feet  in  diameter.    There  was  no  water  in  it.     It 

312 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

is  usually  dry  in  summer.  Here  Jesus  had  that  mem- 
orable conversation  with  the  Samaritan  woman.  Two 
hundred  yards  to  the  north  and  across  a  slight  depres- 
sion in  the  land  is  the  village  called  Sychar.  In  the 
valley  between  the  well  and  Sychar  is  the  tomb  of 
Joseph,  according  to  the  belief  of  the  Christians.  The 
Moslems  claim  that  the  mummy  of  Joseph  was  taken 
to  Hebron  to  the  cave  of  Machpelah,  and  they  will 
not  allow  the  tomb  at  Sychar  to  be  opened.  As  Jesus 
looked  to  the  east,  north,  and  south  from  the  well  he 
saw  the  fields  "white  unto  the  harvest"  if  he  saw  them 
in  the  month  of  May.  Looking  to  the  west,  he  and 
the  woman  saw  Mt.  Gerizim  rising  abruptly  before 
them ;  while  on  the  north  of  the  pass  running  east  and 
west  was  Mount  Ebal.  Through  the  pass,  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  away,  they  could  see  Shechem,  now  the  city 
of  Nablus.  Pointing  to  Mount  Gerizim,  she  said: 
"Our  fathers  worshiped  in  this  mountain."  The 
Samaritans  have  always  worshiped  there,  and  the  only 
Samaritans  in  the  world  worship  there  to-day.  How- 
ever, their  number  has  decreased  until  there  are  now 
only  one  hundred  and  sixty  of  them.  The  intermar- 
riage of  relatives  is  fast  bringing  about  the  extinction 
of  the  race.  The  men  are  handsome  and  six  feet  or 
more  tall,  while  the  women  are  blondes  and  beautiful. 
They  are  hated  by  Jews  and  Moslems  alike ;  but  they 
continue  their  same  manner  of  life,  following  strictly 
and  literally  every  order  of  worship  and  sacrifice 
which  is  to  be  found  in  the  Pentateuch.  They  have 
in  their  synagogue  a  copy  of  the  Pentateuch,  which  is 
one  of  the  most  ancient  manuscripts  in  existence.  Al- 
though it  was  not  found  until  the  seventeenth  century, 

313 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

yet  the  Samaritans  claim  that  it  was  written  by  the 
grandson  of  Aaron.  The  best  experts  locate  its  origin 
shortly  after  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era.  A 
manuscript  is  shown  to  visitors  for  two  francs  a  per- 
son, but  the  original  is  not  often  seen.  The  Samari- 
tans claim  that  Mount  Gerizim  is  the  scene  of  Abra- 
ham's sacrifice,  and  Dean  Stanley  said:  "Beyond  all 
doubt,  Isaac  was  offered  on  Gerizim."  Dr.  Thomson 
shared  this  opinion.  The  Holy  Place  is  on  the  eastern 
extremity  of  the  mountain.  But  little  more  than  ruins 
now  mark  the  sacred  place  of  these  Babylonians. 

We  spent  the  night  in  a  comfortable  German  hotel 
in  Nablus,  the  successor  of  the  ancient  Shechem.  It 
is  a  city  of  25,000  people,  and  is  the  most  populous  and 
important  commercial  city  between  Jerusalem  and 
Damascus.  The  inhabitants  are  all  IMoslems  except- 
ing 1,000  Christians,  200  Jews,  150  Protestants,  and 
160  Samaritans,  and  they  are  as  fanatical  and  bar- 
barous as  the  Mohammedans  of  Hebron.  They  have 
eight  large  mosques,  and  among  them  the  finest  in 
Palestine.  No  tourist  would  feel  safe  in  the  town  alone. 
But  the  city  is  in  one  of  the  most  beautiful  spots  in 
Palestine.  There  is  an  abundant  supply  of  water  in 
the  community,  there  being  twenty-seven  springs,  and 
water  is  the  most  essential  element  for  this  country. 
The  town  is  solidly  built  of  stone ;  the  streets  are  nar- 
row, crooked,  dark,  and  dirty ;  the  bazaars  are  in  the 
streets  that  are  arched  and  vaulted  and  consequently 
gloomy  and  damp ;  the  shops  are  well  stocked,  and 
trade  is  usually  brisk  in  many  ways.  It  is  the  liveliest 
city  in  Palestine.  But  to  this  tourist  it  had  its  greatest 
interest  not  because  of  its  great  soap   factories,  its 

314 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

fine  market,  and  its  busy  bazaars,  but  because  here 
Jacob  bought  his  farm,  here  on  Mount  Gerizim  and 
Mount  Ebal  the  blessings  and  curses  were  read  ac- 
cording to  the  order  of  Moses  (Deut,  xxvii.),  here 
Joshua  called  the  tribes  together  in  his  old  age  and 
commanded  them  to  choose  whom  they  would  serve, 
and  here  for  centuries  the  kings  of  Israel  were 
crowned.  Shechem,  Samaria,  Nablus — different  names 
of  a  great  and  sacred  locality. 

The  day's  journey  of  twenty-three  miles  from  Nab- 
lus to  Jenin  was  very  exhausting,  as  there  was  much 
mountain-climbing,  with  many  rough  and  narrow  trails. 
We  left  Nablus  at  six  o'clock,  and  arrived  in  Sebaste, 
the  old  city  of  Samaria,  in  two  and  a  half  hours. 
Nablus  is  on  the  watershed  of  the  country,  and  we 
passed  to  the  Mediterranean  side,  and  for  almost  an 
hour  we  had  a  good  road  through  a  beautiful  valley; 
but  we  left  this  road,  which  leads  to  Haifa,  and  took 
the  trails  across  the  hills.  We  passed  through  a  nar- 
row valley  to  the  hill  on  which  Samaria  is  situated. 
We  visited  the  old  Crusaders'  Church,  which  marks 
a  traditional  site  of  the  burial  place  of  John  the  Bap- 
tist, but  which  has  been  converted  into  a  mosque.  I 
went  into  the  Baptist's  tomb.  We  then  rode  up  to  the 
summit  of  the  hill  through  the  old  colonnade  which 
Herod  erected  in  honor  of  his  emperor,  and  then 
around  the  hill  on  the  north  side  to  the  excavations 
which  are  being  conducted  by  some  professors  of  Har- 
vard University.  Isaiah  compared  this  hill  to  a  crown. 
From  it  one  gets  a  magnificent  view,  the  Mediter- 
ranean Sea,  Mount  Carmel,  and  the  Mountain  of  Gilboa 
all  being  visible.    The  surrounding  valleys  were  glori- 

315 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

ous  in  their  fields  of  grain.  The  explorers  have  dug 
out  the  foundations  of  a  fine  old  building,  probably  a 
place  of  worship.  They  have  found  some  interesting 
walls  on  the  west  side  of  the  crown  of  the  hill.  The 
colonnade  is  sixty  feet  wide,  with  three  driveways, 
and  it  is  one  mile  in  length.  On  the  north  side  of  the 
hill  are  other  ruins  of  columns  which  evidently  mark 
an  old  hippodrome.  At  the  time  of  Herod  the  Great 
Samaria  was  evidently  possessed  of  great  splendor, 
and  as  a  capital  for  many  kings  of  Israel  it  was  known 
among  the  nations.  The  world  will  watch  with  great 
interest  the  archaeological  excavations  which  are  being 
conducted  by  the  Harvard  professors.  For  location 
Samaria  could  not  be  excelled. 

We  descended  the  hill  on  the  north  side  and  pro- 
ceeded across  the  valley  about  a  mile  wide;  and  when 
we  ascended  the  hill  on  the  other  side,  we  had  an  ex- 
tensive view  of  Samaria  and  the  charming  surround- 
ing country.  We  crossed  the  ridge  and  descended  to 
the  narrow  valley  that  leads  to  the  Plain  of  Dothan,  a 
country  made  famous  by  the  sale  of  Joseph,  or  more 
properly  by  their  casting  him  into  a  pit  which  is  here 
pointed  out.  Here  also  Elisha  was  surrounded  by 
Syrian  soldiers,  whom  he  smote  with  blindness.  The 
plain  is  very  beautiful,  as  are  all  these  valleys  of  Pales- 
tine, hemmed  in  as  they  are  by  the  treeless  but  grass- 
clad  and  flower-bedecked  mountains.  From  the  hill- 
top overlooking  Dothan  one  sees  one  of  the  largest 
olive  orchards  in  Palestine.  We  here  passed  over  the 
border  between  Ephraim  and  Manasseh ;  and  following 
a  narrow  ravine,  we  soon  came  to  Jenin. 

The  night's  rest  at  Jenin  was  quite  refreshing,  al- 
316 


HEROD  S  TEMPLE  COLONNADE,  SAMARIA. 


TABOR,  THE  MOUNT  OF  TRANSFIGURATION. 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

though  the  fatigue  from  that  exhausting  day  did  not 
leave  for  a  week.  To  reach  Nazareth  we  had  seven 
hours'  travel;  and  so  we  set  out  in  the  gray  dawn  at 
five  o'clock,  and  by  continuous  travel,  with  an  hour's 
rest  at  Nain,  we  reached  Nazareth  at  one  o'clock.  On 
quitting  Jenin  we  entered  at  once  the  wonderful  Plain 
of  Esdraelon,  the  battle  ground  of  the  centuries  and 
the  finest  fields  in  the  kingdom  of  Israel.  For  two 
hours  we  rode  across  this  great  plain,  when  we  came 
to  Jezreel,  the  city  of  Ahab,  the  city  where  Jezebel 
met  her  awful  death,  the  city  that  contains  Naboth's 
Garden,  the  place  of  Jehu's  furious  driving.  On  the 
east  of  the  city,  a  short  distance  away,  is  the  Moun- 
tain of  Gilboa,  where  Saul  and  Jonathan  were  slain. 
On  the  north  side  of  the  mountain,  just  east  of  Jez- 
reel, is  the  ravine  where  Gideon  chose  his  three  hun- 
dred valiant  warriors ;  and  farther  east  is  Endor,  where 
Saul  visited  the  witch.  The  Syrians  are  still  super- 
stitious and  believe  in  fortune-telling  and  communica- 
tion with  the  spirits  of  the  dead.  From  the  hill  of 
Jezreel  we  had  a  magnificent  view,  seeing  on  the  south- 
west Megiddo,  on  the  west  the  wall  of  Mount  Car- 
mel,  on  the  north  Little  Hermon  (a  mountain  whose 
name  is  due  to  Jerome's  mistaken  interpretation  of 
the  eighty-ninth  Psalm),  and  on  the  east  beyond  Jor- 
dan the  country  of  Jabesh-gilead.  One  leaves  this 
spot  with  regret.  As  we  passed  down  the  slope,  we 
found  the  villagers — men,  women,  and  children — by 
the  scores,  ■  even  by  the  hundred,  reaping  the  wheat 
and  gleaning  the  fields.  The  men  were  reaping  with 
their  sickles,  the  women  and  children  were  gleaning 
every  last  head  of  wheat  left  behind  by  the  reapers,  and 

317 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

boys  were  taking  the  bundles  on  donkeys  to  the  thrash- 
ing floor.  The  grain  is  tramped  out  by  the  oxen  and 
the  donkeys,  and  the  chaff  is  separated  from  the  wheat 
by  the  wind  when  the  mass  is  thrown  up  just  as  in  the 
days  of  the  Master.  When  the  wheat  is  sold,  the 
buyer  gets  for  a  bushel  all  he  is  able  to  put  into  the 
measure.  So  he  heaps  up,  shakes  together,  presses 
down,  and  puts  in  as  long  as  a  grain  will  lie  on.  If 
he  does  not  get  good  measure,  it  is  his  own  fault. 

The  hour's  ride  across  the  plain  to  the  opposite  hill- 
side, where  we  came  to  Shunem,  was  exceedingly  en- 
joyable, for  the  rich  grain  everywhere  was  cheering 
to  one  who  had  so  recently  crossed  the  parched  land 
of  India.  I  had  been  told  that  Palestine  was  greatly 
disappointing;  but  to  my  surprise,  I  had  never  found 
a  more  fascinating  country.  There  are  no  trees,  be- 
cause the  government  officials  tax  heavily  the  people 
for  every  tree  that  they  possess.  So  they  keep  as  few 
as  possible,  and  they  are  usually  olive  or  fig  trees, 
which  produce  a  revenue.  But  even  without  the  trees 
the  rich,  fertile  fields,  the  picturesque  and  grass-car- 
peted mountains,  the  narrow  and  wild  ravines  had  a 
peculiar  fascination  for  me.  From  Shunem  we  looked 
back  on  Esdraelon,  Jezreel,  and  Gilboa  with  delight, 
while  we  were  glad  to  come  into  the  town  of  that 
good  woman  who  entertained  the  prophet  Elisha.  who 
restored  to  life  the  son  who  had  died  of  sunstroke  in 
the  fields  upon  which  we  were  looking  when  he  went 
out  to  the  reapers.  From  Shunem  we  went  around  the 
west  end  of  Little  Hermon,  and  after  an  hour  we  came 
to  Nain,  where  the  Lord  raised  to  life  the  widow's  son. 
The  few  wretched  clay  huts  were  uninteresting,  but 

318 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

the  small  Franciscan  chapel  gave  us  shade  for  an 
hour's  rest.  Mount  Tabor,  the  mount  of  transfigura- 
tion, was  in  full  view.  We  rode  across  the  Plain  of 
Nain  in  a  half  hour,  and  then  ascended  the  hill ;  and 
after  a  short  distance  on  the  other  side  we  came  to 
Nazareth,  the  end  of  our  long  horseback  journey.  The 
rest  of  the  half  day  and  the  night  in  that  city  that 
knew  the  childhood,  youth,  and  young  manhood  of 
our  Lord  seemed  the  rest  to  which  he  invited  all  men 
when  he  said:  "Come  unto  me    .    .    .    and  rest." 

Nazareth  would  be  attractive  to  any  visitor,  even 
had  it  never  been  the  home  of  Jesus  and  his  mother, 
because  of  its  beautiful  location  on  the  mountain  side, 
with  the  high  hills  about  it  and  the  superb  view  which 
can  be  had  from  its  heights.  Many  of  the  buildings 
are  tasteful,  with  dazzling  white  walls  around  them, 
while  the  green  framework  of  cactus  hedges,  fig  trees, 
and  olive  trees  makes  a  sight  most  pleasing.  The 
town  has  a  population  of  ii,ooo,  of  whom  4,000  are 
Moslems,  4,000  Orthodox  Greeks,  1,000  United 
Greeks,  1,500  Latins,  200  Maronites,  and  250  Prot- 
estants. Many  of  the  women  are  quite  beautiful ;  and 
when  they  are  dressed  in  their  gay  embroidered  jackets 
and  their  foreheads  and  chests  are  laden  with  their 
coins,  they  make  a  very  attractive  appearance.  The 
district  is  comparatively  rich,  and  the  town  shows  a 
decided  thriftiness.  Evidently  the  same  could  not 
have  been  said  of  the  place  when  Jesus  lived  there,  as 
it  must  have  been  a  small  village  of  mean  reputation. 
But  the  town  is  greatly  enlarged ;  and  although  it  may 
occupy  a  somewhat  different  location  from  that  of 
Jesus's  time,  yet  here  the  carpenter's  son  came  to  his 

319 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

manhood,  and  the  points  of  real  interest  are  those  with 
which  his  life  was  concerned.  The  visit  to  the  church 
which  covers  the  site  of  the  Virgin's  home,  where  she 
received  the  annunciation  that  she  was  to  be  the 
mother  of  the  Messiah,  took  on  a  sacred  meaning. 
Through  the  monastery,  within  which  is  the  Church 
of  the  Annunciation,  we  had  to  pass  to  reach  the  place 
of  Joseph's  carpenter  shop.  It,  too,  is  covered  by  a 
chapel.  Not  far  away  was  the  traditional  site  of  the 
synagogue  in  which  Jesus  preached.  But  the  only  place 
of  which  we  felt  certain  was  Mary's  Well,  which  is  the 
only  spring  that  the  town  possesses.  Mary  and  her  son 
must  have  come  here  with  their  jars  for  water.  The 
motley  throng  which  gathered  about  the  spring  in  the 
evening  was  quite  entertaining  to  the  visitors,  and  es- 
pecially as  the  girls  and  women  trotted  away  with 
the  jars  of  water  on  their  heads  unsupported  by  their 
hands.  The  mount  of  precipitation,  from  which  the 
throng  tried  to  throw  Jesus,  is  east  of  the  town,  and 
from  it  one  may  have  a  magnificent  view  of  the  whole 
Plain  of  Esdraelon,  with  Endor,  Nain,  Jezreel,  Little 
Hermon  on  the  south,  Mount  Carmel  on  the  west, 
Great  Hermon  with  its  snow-covered  peaks  on  the 
north,  Mount  Tabor,  the  basin  of  Tiberias,  and  the 
country  beyond  on  the  east.  From  the  hilltop  back 
of  the  town,  on  which  the  English  Protestant  Girls' 
Orphanage  is  situated,  the  survey  of  the  Valley  of 
Nazareth  and  the  surrounding  country  is  gorgeous. 
One  leaves  Nazareth,  with  its  hills  and  its  valleys,  its 
beautiful  homes  and  gardens,  its  sacred  spots  and  holy 
atmosphere,  with  a  sense  of  regret;  but,  after  all,  per- 
haps it  is  best  not  to  remain  until  the  halo  fades  away. 

320 


MARYS    WELL,    NAZARETH. 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

The  morning  sun  flooded  the  valley  with  golden 
light  as  we  took  the  carriage  for  our  four  hours'  drive 
to  Tiberias;  and  as  we  climbed  the  hill  east  of  the 
town,  we  looked  back  upon  the  beautiful  little  sacred 
city  and  went  away  with  a  picture  richer  in  color, 
finer  in  execution,  and  more  precious  in  meaning  than 
any  we  had  caught  before  in  all  this  fascinating  land. 
After  a  short  distance  we  came  to  the  road  that  leads 
up  to  Mount  Tabor,  which  must  be  ascended  on  foot. 
It  is  1,846  feet  high,  and  when  seen  from  Nain  it  has 
the  form  of  a  dome,  but  from  the  northwest  it  has  the 
appearance  of  a  truncated  cone.  On  it  are  the  ruins  of 
an  old  castle  and  of  a  Crusaders'  church.  The  Greeks 
and  the  Latins  have  churches,  and  both  claim  that  the 
actual  spot  of  the  transfiguration  is  within  their  church. 
The  view  from  the  summit  is  very  extensive.  The 
natural  view  was  sufficient  to  make  Peter  want  to 
build  tabernacles  here ;  and  when  the  divine  glory  was 
added,  it  is  no  wonder  that  he  wanted  to  take  up  a  per- 
manent abode.  But  we  continued  our  journey,  and 
in  two  hours  we  were  in  Cana,  where  the  first  miracle 
— that  of  turning  the  water  into  wine — was  wrought. 
We  saw  the  big  stone  jars  that  Jesus  used,  so  the 
Greek  priest  told  us  between  the  prayers  which  he 
muttered  when  we  went  into  his  church;  but  our 
credulity  was  not  equal  to  such  a  test.  In  the  Latin 
chapel  which  occupies  the  site  of  a  church  of  the  Cru- 
saders (which  in  turn  succeeded  a  church  that  prob- 
ably dates  back  to  the  third  or  fourth  century)  we 
saw  what  the  priest  claimed  to  be  the  remains  of  an 
old  synagogue.  Here,  we  were  told,  the  miracle  took 
place,  and  we  were  shown  a  copy  of  a  jar  which  was 
21  321 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

taken  from  here  and  which  is  preserved  now  in  some 
Roman  Catholic  cathedral  as  the  water  jar  that  Jesus 
used.  While  the  arguments  were  not  convincing,  yet 
I  greatly  enjoyed  the  sight  of  the  remains  of  the  old 
synagogue.  The  site  of  the  house  of  Nathanael  was 
also  pointed  out.  The  little,  dirty  village  contains 
about  eight  hundred  people,  half  of  whom  are  Mos- 
lems. The  children  ran  after  us  with  laces  for  sale 
and  with  a  general  cry  for  backsheesh.  The  village 
in  Palestine  is  nothing  more  than  a  collection  of  mud 
huts  without  windows  except  small  holes,  and  without 
floors  and  without  chimneys.  They  are  covered  with 
straw  and  mud.  The  house  usually  has  one  large 
room,  which  is  used  by  the  male  members  of  the  fam- 
ily and  for  the  reception  of  strangers.  In  case  the 
owner  is  wealthy,  a  room  is  built  above  this,  called 
the  upper  chamber,  and  is  reserved  for  an  honored 
guest.  Adjoining  the  large  room  one  or  two  rooms 
are  built  for  the  women  and  girls,  where  they  live  and 
do  their  cooking,  washing,  and  other  work.  The 
natives  spend  most  of  their  time  in  the  summer  on 
the  roofs  of  their  houses,  where  booths  are  built  of 
weeds  and  cane,  in  which  the  members  of  the  family 
sleep.  As  there  are  no  fireplaces,  the  fire  is  made  in 
the  center  of  the  large  room ;  and  the  smc4ce  from  the 
burning  wood  often  becomes  so  dense  that  one  can 
scarcely  see  across  the  room,  and  of  course  the  eyes 
of  all  present  must  suffer.  In  the  cities  the  brasiers 
are  filled  with  charcoal,  and  the  people  sit  around 
them  and  warm  their  hands.  Bedsteads,  tables,  chairs, 
and  sofas  are  never  used  in  the  villages  and  very  sel- 
dom in  the  cities;  but  rich,  beautiful  rugs  are  thrown 

323 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

on  the  floor,  and  the  people  sit  on  them,  folding  their 
legs  in  tailor  fashion,  and  lean  against  heavy  bolsters 
lined  against  the  walls.  In  the  homes  of  the  wealthy 
mattresses,  which  are  kept  in  alcoves  especially  built 
for  that  purpose,  are  spread  on  the  floor  for  the  in- 
mates and  guests  to  sleep  on ;  but  the  poor  and  the  la- 
boring classes  have  no  such  luxuries,  and  are  com- 
pelled to  sleep  on  their  straw  mats,  with  their  coats 
spread  over  them  or  under  them,  and  with  anything 
for  a  pillow  which  comes  to  hand.  Jacob  found  a 
comfortable  stone.  The  coat,  fashioned  like  an  army 
officer's  cloak,  is  very  heavy,  and  is  worn  in  summer 
to  keep  off  the  heat  and  in  winter  to  shield  from  the 
cold,  while  it  becomes  a  mat  or  a  bed  which  even  a 
paralytic  could  take  up  and  then  walk;  and  as  a  rug 
it  is  ever  in  evidence,  while  thrown  under  the  feet  of 
honored  visitors  it  serves  to  show  the  highest  esteem 
and  to  give  a  royal  welcome.  At  the  door  of  one  of 
these  humble  huts  in  a  village  we  saw  a  woman  with 
her  baby  in  her  arms.  It  was  wrapped  in  swaddling 
clothes,  just  as  was  Jesus  when  he  was  laid  in  the 
manger.  When  a  child  is  born,  it  is  immediately 
plunged  into  a  bath  of  salt  brine ;  and  after  being  well 
massaged,  it  is  powdered  with  very  fine  salt  and 
wrapped  in  swaddling  bands.  Every  time  the  child 
is  washed  and  its  clothing  changed  the  body  is  pow- 
dered with  fine  salt.  This  is  kept  up  until  the  child  is 
weaned.  Salt  is  the  chief  ingredient  in  the  medicines 
of  the  country.  It  is  said  to  eradicate  even  the  tenden- 
cies to  disease. 

The  home  is  the  man's  castle ;  for  so  long  as  he  is 
in  his  own  home,  no  one  can  arrest  him  and  no  power 

323 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

can  bring  .him  out.  If  a  man  were  to  force  himself 
into  a  home  where  there  were  women,  or  were  he  to 
be  caught  there,  he  would  be  killed,  and  the  man  who 
did  the  killing  would  not  be  liable  to  the  law.  In  the 
cities  men  are  not  allowed  where  women  happen  to  be ; 
and  should  a  man  come  upon  women  who  by  some 
chance  did  not  have  the  veil  over  their  faces  and 
looked  at  them,  he  would  be  liable  to  an  assault  by  any 
man  present.  Of  course  the  Christian  and  Jewish 
women  may  be  seen  at  any  time.  In  the  villages  the 
women  do  not  wear  veils,  as  they  must  labor  outdoors ; 
and  a  stranger  may  address  them,  inquiring  for  di- 
rection to  some  place  or  even  asking  for  a  drink  of 
water,  but  he  cannot  tarry  for  a  conversation.  In  the 
times  of  Jesus  there  was  evidently  a  law  forbidding 
men  to  converse  with  strange  women,  and  he  bade 
the  Samaritan  woman  at  Jacob's  Well  to  call  her  hus- 
band. The  women  and  girls  do  not  eat  with  the  men 
and  boys  of  the  family ;  but  after  these  lords  have  eaten, 
what  is  left  is  removed  to  the  women's  apartments,  and 
there  these  subdued  souls  satisfy  their  hunger.  A 
woman  is  not  amenable  to  religious  or  civil  courts; 
and  should  she  steal  or  commit  murder,  she  is  pun- 
ished as  a  young  child  who  knew  no  better.  The 
woman  holds  a  very  humble  place  in  all  Oriental  coun- 
tries.   The  reader  will  pardon  this  digression. 

We  had  a  good  road  from  Cana  to  Tiberias  over  a 
level  plateau.  We  crossed  the  Crusaders'  battlefield, 
where  the  Christians  were  defeated  by  the  Moslem  gen- 
eral, Saladin,  in  1187.  Here  we  saw  some  fine  herds 
of  sheep  and  goats.  The  shepherd  led  his  flock.  Every 
sheep  or  goat  in  his  herd  has  a  name  and  knows  its 

324 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

name ;  and  when  the  shepherd  calls  its  name,  it  comes. 
There  was  not  a  day  that  I  spent  in  Palestine  that  I 
did  not  hear  the  shepherd's  call  and  see  his  sheep  obey 
his  call.  We  passed  near  the  mountain  from  the  side  of 
which  Jesus  is  reputed  to  have  delivered  the  Sermon 
on  the  Mount.  For  nearly  an  hour  before  we  reached 
Tiberias  we  had  a  full  view  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee  and 
its  surrounding  hills.  We  descended  an  abrupt  hill 
to  the  town  of  Tiberias,  and  were  soon  comfortably 
quartered  in  a  German  hotel.  The  Germans  are  the 
hotel  keepers  throughout  Palestine,  and  can  always  be 
relied  on  to  give  comfortable  entertainment.  But  Ger- 
man colonies  are  being  planted  in  many  parts  of  the 
Holy  Land,  and  rival  in  size  and  influence  the  Russian 
colonies.  The  people  from  these  two  European  coun- 
tries are  beginning  to  make  new  conditions  in  this  an- 
cient land,  and  the  civilized  world  may  well  rejoice  at 
the  growth  of  this  influence. 

Tiberias  surprised  me  by  being  dirtier  and  filthier 
than  any  place  that  I  had  seen.  The  population  of 
5,000  is  two- thirds  Jewish  of  the  Russian  and  Polish 
variety.  There  is  nothing  there  for  them  to  do,  which 
is  not  displeasing  to  them,  as  they  are  very  glad  to 
depend  entirely  upon  the  Israelite  Alliance  of  Europe. 
However,  they  are  as  orthodox  as  they  are  filthy  and 
lazy,  and  have  reputations  as  students  of  the  Talmud. 
It  was  here  that  the  Hebrew  Bible,  now  universally 
accepted,  was  written.  The  Jerusalem  Talmud  came 
into  existence  here,  and  the  Mishna  was  here  first 
published.  Here  St.  Jerome  studied  the  Hebrew  lan- 
guage. While  it  is  noted  for  the  Hebrew  scholars 
that  have  lived  here  and  is  now  one  of  the  four  holy 

325 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

cities  of  the  Jewish  faith  (Jerusalem,  Hebron,  and 
Safed  being  the  other  three),  yet  Tiberias  at  the  time 
of  our  Lord  was  considered  unclean  for  a  Jew.  Herod 
Antipas,  the  murderer  of  John  the  Baptist,  built  the 
city.  The  hill  was  crowned  with  a  picturesque  castle  ; 
the  slopes  were  covered  with  temples,  palaces,  and 
other  public  buildings ;  the  streets  were  wide  and  well- 
paved;  and  high  walls  three  miles  in  length  inclosed 
the  city.  But  a  burial  place  was  disturbed  in  laying 
the  foundations,  and  that  made  the  place  unclean  for 
the  Jews.  There  is  no  record  that  Jesus  ever  visited 
the  town,  although  it  was  not  more  than  six  miles 
from  Capernaum,  and  the  fact  that  it  was  Jewishly 
unclean  may  account  for  his  not  visiting  the  place. 
The  population  then  was  made  up  largely  of  adven- 
turers, beggars,  and  any  foreigners  whom  Herod  could 
induce  to  come.  It  was  a  Grseco-Romish  city,  with 
its  race  course,  amphitheater,  and  such  un- Jewish  in- 
stitutions. The  glory  of  the  Herodian  city  named  for 
his  emperor  has  departed,  and  now  its  chief  fame  is 
that  the  king  of  fleas  lives  here.  Throughout  Syria 
Tiberias  is  notorious  for  these  friendly  pests. 

We  had  for  our  dinner  that  day  some  very  fine  fish 
which  had  that  morning  been  caught  in  the  Sea  of 
Galilee.  This  famous  body  of  water  is  still  noted  for 
its  fish  of  many  varieties  which  live  here  in  great 
quantities,  although  they  are  taken  in  large  numbers 
to  satisfy  the  demands  of  the  people  who  live  on  or 
near  the  shores.  How  beautiful  is  this  little  lake  about 
which  the  Great  Teacher  lived  so  much  of  his  three 
great  years !  It  is  thirteen  miles  long,  and  its  greatest 
width  is  six  miles,  while  its  greatest  depth  is  137  to 

326 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

157  feet,  according  to  the  season,  the  depth  varying 
with  the  rains.  Its  surface  is  680  feet  below  the  level 
of  the  Mediterranean.  The  water  has  a  light  blue 
color.  Its  taste  is  not  disagreeable.  The  natives  drink 
the  water.  The  surrounding  hills  are  of  moderate 
height,  and  the  scenery,  enlivened  by  a  few  villages, 
is  quite  pleasing.  In  the  spring  the  banks  form  a 
veritable  paradise,  as  the  low  soil  is  very  fertile.  In 
summer  the  heat  is  intense,  and  the  vegetation  is  sub- 
tropical; and  just  after  the  first  rains  fever  is  quite 
prevalent.  A  sail  on  the  waters  of  this  quiet  lake  was 
a  thing  greatly  to  be  desired ;  and  in  the  afternoon,  with 
four  good  boatmen  and  a  satisfactory  English-speak- 
ing guide,  I  set  sail  for  Tell  Hum,  the  probable  site  of 
ancient  Capernaum,  which  was  about  seven  miles  away. 
The  lake  was  quiet  for  two  miles  while  we  were  be- 
hind the  overhanging  hills  above  Tiberias;  but  when 
we  passed  Magdala,  the  home  of  Mary  Magdalene, 
and  the  mountains  gave  way  to  the  Plain  of  Gen- 
nesaret,  the  strong  winds  from  the  west  swooped  down 
upon  us  and  our  boat  dipped  water.  The  boatmen 
lowered  the  sails  somewhat,  the  ballast  of  heavy  stones 
was  moved  to  the  west  side  of  the  boat,  and  the  six 
of  us  sat  on  that  same  edge.  Still  the  boat  skirted 
the  water,  which  occasionally  poured  in,  and  which  a 
boatman  busily  bailed  out.  I  understood  perfectly  the 
record  in  the  Gospels  of  that  storm  which  made  the 
disciples  afraid,  and  which  the  Master  rebuked  into 
peace.  When  we  came  to  Tell  Hum  we  were  unable 
to  land,  as  there  was  danger  of  being  dashed  against 
the  black  basaltic  stones;  but  we  found  a  harbor  a 
little  to  the  west.    With  the  guide  I  went  to  Tell  Hum, 

327 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

which  may  mark  the  place  of  Capernaum  or  that  of 
Chorazin.  The  geographers  and  archaeologists  have 
not  been  able  to  agree  on  the  sites  about  the  Sea  of 
Galilee,  but  there  is  strong  argument  in  favor  of  Tell 
Hum  being  Capernaum;  and  the  German  Franciscan 
monk  who  is  conducting  the  excavations  there  felt  very 
confident  that  the  splendid  ruins  which  he  was  bringing 
to  light  were  none  other  than  those  of  the  old  syna- 
gogue in  which  Jesus  preached  in  the  city  of  Caper- 
naum. The  ruins  are  interesting,  and  show  that  once 
they  were  parts  of  an  elegant  building  which  was  con- 
structed of  white  stone  which  did  not  come  from  that 
section,  as  there  the  stone  is  all  black  volcanic  basalt. 
The  Franciscans  have  it  in  mind  to  reconstruct  on  this 
ancient  foundation  a  building  on  the  plan  of  the  origi- 
nal. Two  miles  east  is  the  mouth  of  the  Jordan;  and 
a  short  distance  up  the  river  is  the  site  of  Bethsaida 
Julias,  where  the  5,000  were  miraculously  fed.  Some 
authorities  put  Capernaum  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Jordan,  where  there  was  once  a  quay  and  a  busy  town. 
Two  miles  west  of  Tell  Hum  is  the  site  of  an  ancient 
town,  where  there  are  some  quaint  old  water  mills,  and 
this  the  guide  pointed  out  as  Bethsaida.  I  went  ashore 
and  started  up  the  hill  to  some  rocks  in  an  open  field, 
from  which  I  hoped  to  get  a  fine  view  of  the  lake  and 
the  various  points  of  interest.  The  guide  cautioned 
me  about  going  into  that  "desert,"  as  there  were  dan- 
gerous scorpions,  snakes,  and  insects.  A  "desert"  in 
that  country  means  a  piece  of  land  that  is  not  culti- 
vated, that  has  been  deserted.  While  definite  locali- 
ties could  not  be  pointed  out,  yet  here  before  me  and 
within  a  distance  of  a  few  miles  were  the  scenes  of  the 

328 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

greatest  life  that  the  world  has  ever  known  or  will 
ever  know.  The  country  on  this  north  and  northwest 
shore  of  the  lake  gradually  rises  and  forms  the  most 
beautiful  location  imaginable  for  the  numerous  towns 
and  villages  which  were  here  at  the  time  of  Jesus.  A 
mile  northwest  of  Bethsaida  the  mountains  rise  to  a 
considerable  height;  and  just  behind  them  is  the 
Jewish  holy  city  of  Safed,  with  a  population  of  30,- 
cxx).  The  Jews  regard  Safed  as  holy  because  they 
believe  that  from  here  the  Messiah  is  to  come.  The 
Sea  of  Galilee  is  girdled  by  an  almost  continuous  belt 
of  ruins,  which  shows  that  in  the  time  of  our  Lord  the 
whole  coast  was  practically  covered  with  city  walls, 
houses,  synagogues,  wharves,  and  factories.  The  great 
road  from  Damascus  to  the  southwest  came  along  the 
north  and  northwest  shore  and  passed  on  just  west  of 
the  mountains  above  Magdala,  out  by  the  Mount  of 
Beatitudes,  where  the  great  Sermon  was  preached,  and 
then  on  near  Mount  Tabor  to  the  southern  country. 
The  Mount  of  Beatitudes  was  near  the  great  highway, 
as  were  Magdala  and  the  cities  in  which  Jesus  spoke 
to  the  multitudes.  As  we  sailed  in  the  shadows  of 
the  evening  to  Tiberias  we  had  a  fine  view  of  the 
country  east  of  the  lake,  of  the  land  of  the  Gergasenes, 
of  the  place  where  the  swine  into  which  the  cast-out 
demons  went  were  driven,  and  of  the  reputed  sites  of 
the  ancient  Gamala  and  Hippas.  The  next  day  we 
sailed  to  the  southern  end  of  the  lake  to  the  railroad 
station  to  take  the  train  to  Damascus.  It  was  then 
that  we  saw  the  wild  country  of  the  Gadarenes.  It  is 
unsafe  to-day  to  go  into  the  country  on  the  east  shore 
of  this  peaceful  lake,  as  the  Bedouins  are  robbers  and 

329 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

have  no  respect  of  persons.  While  the  twenty-four 
hours  gave  us  full  opportunity  to  see  what  there  is  to 
be  seen  about  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  yet  they  passed  all 
too  quickly  for  one  who  wanted  to  dwell  in  quiet 
meditation  amid  these  suggestive  and  stimulating 
scenes. 

330 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

Damascus,  Baalbek,  Beirut,  Alexandria. 

TTXHEN  one,  leaving  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  turns  his 
V  V  face  toward  the  east  and  begins  a  journey  into 
the  land  beyond  the  Jordan,  he  turns  his  back  upon  the 
real  Holy  Land  and  enters  a  country  without  that 
sacredness  which  attaches  to  those  places  that  are 
associated  with  the  life  of  our  Lord  and  the  labors  of 
the  men  who  made  Israel.  The  Palestine  that  we 
love  lies  west  of  the  Jordan,  although  Moab,  Jabesh- 
gilead,  and  Damascus  have  a  prominent  place  in  the 
history  of  the  chosen  people.  The  whole  of  Palestine 
has  an  area  of  only  ii,ooo  square  miles,  and  its  popu- 
lation would  be  doubled  if  the  Jews  of  New  York 
City  would  some  bright  day  all  go  to  the  land  of  their 
fathers.  But  they  are  not  going,  and  neither  are  the 
thrifty  Jews  from  any  land.  Of  the  700,000  people^ 
in  Palestine,  about  90,000  are  Jews,  550,000  are  Mo- 
hammedans, and  60.000  are  Christians.  The  Chris- 
tians are  mostly  Greeks  and  Latins,  although  there  are 
Armenians,  Maronites,  and  some  other  small  sects  and 
a  few  Protestants.  From  the  standpoint  of  race  the 
population  of  Syria,  which  is  about  three  million,  con- 
sists of  Syrians,  Arabs,  Turks,  Jews,  and  Franks. 
There  are  not  many  Franks.  The  Syrians  are  the 
descendants  of  those  who  spoke  Aramaic  at  the  time 
of  Christ,  with  the  exception  of  the  Jews.  They  are 
the  real  native  people  of  the  country.    Many  of  them 

331 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

have  remained  faithful  to  the  Christian  faith,  while 
others  have  embraced  Mohammedanism.  The  Arabs, 
whether  settled  or  nomadic  Bedouins,  come  from  the 
desert  country  and  are  followers  of  Mohammed.  The 
Turks  are  not  numerous,  and  are  said  to  be  inferior 
intellectually  to  the  Arabs ;  but  they  compose  the  large 
part  of  the  governing-  class.  As  officials  they  are,  with- 
out doubt,  very  corrupt;  and  the  publican  of  the  days 
of  our  Lord  M'as  no  more  harsh  than  his  successor 
of  this  day.  They  have  a  system  of  government  very 
similar  to  that  in  China  and  other  Oriental  countries, 
and  the  "squeeze"  is  always  to  be  expected.  A  German 
who  built  a  hotel  in  Tiberias  said  that  he  had  to  pay 
six  hundred  francs  (one  hundred  and  twenty  dollars) 
backsheesh  to  the  officials  for  permission  to  continue 
his  work  from  time  to  time.  The  money  of  the  coun- 
try was  hard  to  understand;  but  French  money  was 
acceptable  in  most  places,  and  I  avoided  the  Turkish 
coins.  The  language  of  the  country  is  Arabic,  but 
many  of  the  people  speak  French.  I  did  not  at  any 
time  enjoy  coming  in  touch  with  the  people. 

The  journey  from  the  Sea  of  Galilee  to  Damascus, 
thence  to  Baalbek  and  on  to  Beirut,  was  made  by  rail. 
We  boarded  the  train  at  Semak,  at  the  southern  end  of 
the  lake,  a  few  hundred  yards  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Jordan,  at  9 130  in  the  morning,  and  arrived  in  Damas- 
cus at  five  o'clock  that  afternoon,  making  a  distance 
of  one  hundred  and  fifty-five  miles.  This  was  by  our 
time.  They  reckon  differently.  This  railroad,  which 
connects  Haifa  and  Damascus,  is  two  hundred  and 
eight  miles  long.  It  runs  from  Haifa  southeast  through 
the  valley  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Carmel,  into  the  Plain 

332 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

of  Esdraelon,  along  the  valley  at  the  foot  of  the  moun- 
tain on  which  Jezreel  is  situated,  north  of  the  Moun- 
tain of  Gilboa,  and  on  to  the  river  Jordan,  where  it 
turns  north  and  runs  along  by  the  river  and  crosses  it 
at  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  where  it  turns  east  and  passes  up 
the  rocky  gorge  of  the  river  Yarmuk  into  the  moun- 
tains of  the  wild  country  east  of  the  Jordan.  The 
rugged  scenery  could  hardly  be  excelled.  We  passed 
within  a  short  distance  of  the  ancient  Gadara,  which  is 
near  the  famous  hot  springs  of  that  name.  After  two 
hours'  travel,  we  came  up  on  the  great  plateau  of  the 
Hauran,  the  famous  wheat  country  of  Syria.  That 
whole  section  is  very  beautiful  and  looks  like  a  great 
prairie  as  compared  with  the  most  of  Palestine.  This 
soil  here  is  very  fertile  and  produces  splendid  crops 
with  small  cultivation.  The  black  basalt  stones  indicate 
the  volcanic-  disturbances  which  once  shook  the  land. 
The  people  are  almost  entirely  Mohammedans.  The 
Bedouins  may  be  seen  in  many  sections.  These  are  the 
direct  descendants  of  the  half-savage  nomads  who  have 
inhabited  Arabia  from  time  immemorial,  and  who  for 
the  most  part  are  of  pure  Arab  blood.  Their  dwellings 
are  the  portable  tents  made  of  black  goat's  hair,  which 
are  impervious  to  rain,  and  which  they  move  to  suit 
their  convenience  or  cleanliness  or  to  meet  the  needs 
for  pastures  for  their  immense  herds  of  sheep,  goats, 
and  camels.  They  live  largely  on  bread  and  milk  and 
occupy  themselves  very  much  with  war  with  other 
tribes  over  pastures  and  wells.  They  have  little  or  no 
religion,  although  they  know  more  of  Mohammedanism 
than  an\1;hing  else.  They  give  the  settled  peasantry 
much  trouble  which  the  government  tries  to  keep  down, 

333 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

but  the  tardiness  of  the  officials  usually  results  in  the 
peasantry  paying  the  sheiks  of  the  Bedouins  blackmail 
to  escape  further  disturbance.  The  entire  Bedouin 
population  numbers  40,cxx)  to  50,000  souls. 

Damascus  is  the  oldest  city  in  the  world  and  the  lar- 
gest in  Syria,  with  its  population  from  200,000  to  250,- 
000.  More  than  three-fourths  of  the  people  are  Mos- 
lems, while  there  are  only  8,000  Jews  and  750  Protes- 
tants ;  and  the  rest  are  mostly  Greeks,  either  orthodox 
or  united.  The  city  is  2,266  feet  above  the  sea,  and  is 
surrounded  by  mountains  on  three  sides.  The  beauti- 
ful Abana  River  (now  called  Barada)  supplies  the 
water  from  the  mountains  that  makes  the  famous  gar- 
dens surrounding  this  ancient  but  now  modern-appear- 
ing Oriental  city.  The  streets  and  the  bazaars  would 
have  great  attraction  for  one  who  had  not  visited  Cairo 
and  the  cities  of  India  and  China.  The  bargaining  that 
is  necessary  for  a  foreigner  to  make  a  small  purchase 
at  a  reasonable  price  is  too  great  to  make  shopping 
very  entertaining.  The  Westerner's  average  ignorance 
of  what  Oriental  goods  are  really  worth  makes  him  an 
easy  prey  for  these  sharp  traders.  The  Syrian  with  his 
red  fez  and  his  flowing  robe  or  European  suit,  the  wom- 
en with  their  covered  faces  and  garments  of  solid  col- 
ors, did  not  furnish  the  attraction  to  one  who  had  vis- 
ited other  Moslem  countries  that  they  have  for  those 
fresh  from  European  or  American  civilization.  Damas- 
cus had  its  greatest  interest  in  its  great  street  called 
"Straight,"  in  the  chapel  belonging  to  the  Latins  that 
covers  the  site  of  Ananias's  house,  the  leper  hospital 
that  is  built  on  the  ground  where  Naaman  had  his 
house,  or  th^  city  wall   where  Paul  was  let   down 

334 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

through  a  window  in  the  basket.  And  these  places  I 
visited.  I  went  into  the  great  mosque,  saw  the  tomb 
of  Saladin,  strolled  through  the  suburb  of  Meidan, 
watched  the  coppersmiths  at  their  work,  and  from  the 
minaret  of  the  mosque  secured  a  fine  view  of  the  city. 
The  Damascans  are  very  proud  of  their  city.  It  is  now 
connected  by  a  railroad  with  Mecca,  by  another  with 
Haifa,  and  by  a  third  with  Beirut.  At  no  distant  day 
Damascus,  the  metropolis  of  Syria,  will  be  situated  on 
a  great  trunk  line  connecting  India  and  Persia  with 
Constantinople ;  while  a  short  line  built  from  Jerusalem 
by  Nablus  and  Jenin  to  some  point  in  the  Esdraelon 
near  Jezreel  will  give  Damascus  direct  connection  with 
Jerusalem  and  Joppa  and  thereby  bring  it  within  twen- 
ty-four to  thirty-six  hours'  travel  of  Egypt.  No  man 
can  prophesy  what  a  decade  will  bring  forth  in  these 
Oriental  countries  that  are  awaking  from  their  long 
Rip- Van-Winkle  slumber  and  are  asking  themselves 
why  they  cannot  become  an  active  factor  in  this  day's 
civilization.  The  marvelous  development  of  a  nation- 
al spirit  among  all  the  peoples  of  the  East  is  the  won- 
der of  these  opening  years  of  the  twentieth  century. 
The  Young  Turks  have  made  their  demands,  and  they 
are  winning  with  their  plans ;  and  the  Young  Persians, 
the  Young  Chinese,  the  Young  Indians,  and  the  Young 
Egyptians  have  been  charged  with  the  same  spirit,  and 
the  day  of  new  events  and  new  conditions  is  beginning 
to  dawn.  Damascus  has  been  touched  by  the  spirit  of 
the  times,  and  her  institutions,  industries,  mode  of  life, 
and  plans  for  future  development  are  becoming  con- 
formed to  the  life  that  has  come  to  them  from  Europe 
and  America. 

335 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

The  railroad  from  Damascus  to  Beirut  runs  up  the 
beautiful  valley  of  the  Barada,  climbing  a  steep  incline 
and  meeting  the  fascinating  stream  as  it  pours  its  sil- 
very waters  over  the  numerous  falls  and  rocky  shal- 
lows. The  gardens  were  rich  in  their  beauty.  Mount 
Hermon,  rising  in  two  peaks  to  about  9,050  feet  and 
perpetually  snow-capped,  was  in  full  view  for  several 
miles.  We  had  it  before  us  that  entire  afternoon  while 
we  were  crossing  the  plateau  of  Hauran.  It  is  a  ma- 
jestic mountain,  and  can  be  seen  from  many  parts  of 
Palestine.  Crops  are  raised  on  its  sides  as  high  as 
5,000  feet;  and  the  forests,  in  which  there  are  foxes, 
'wolves,  and  other  wild  beasts,  extend  even  nearer  the 
summit.  After  two  hours  we  came  to  the  junction 
where  the  railroad  leads  to  the  north  to  Baalbek  and 
on  to  Aleppo.  Not  to  have  visited  Baalbek  would 
have  been  a  great  mistake,  for  the  ruins  of  that  place 
cannot  be  surpassed  in  interest,  beauty,  and  sublimity 
by  anything  to  be  found  in  Egypt,  Greece,  or  any  other 
nation  of  the  world.  Baalbek  means  "the  seat  of 
Baal,"  and  so  the  wonderful  ruins  of  the  magnificent 
temples  likely  have  something  to  do  with  the  worship 
of  Baal.  Legendary  history  claims  that  Cain  was  the 
founder  of  the  city,  and  that  he  built  the  first  fortifica- 
tions here  after  he  sle^v  his  brother  Abel.  Another 
claim  is  that  Nimrod,  the  great  hunter,  was  one  of  the 
early  settlers  of  the  place.  A  still  more  interesting  tra- 
dition is  that  here  the  people  who  would  build  a  tower 
to  heaven  had  their  scriptural  Babel.  Abraham,  patri- 
archs, prophets,  judges,  and  kings  have  their  names 
connected  with  the  place.  As  it  was  halfway  between 
Tyre  and  Palmyra,  it  unquestionably  held  a  prominent 

336 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

location  and  was  a  famous  city  in  the  ancient  times. 
The  Phoenicians  and  Canaan ites  were  worshipers  of 
Baal,  the  solar  deity,  and  to  them  is  credited  the  erec- 
tion of  the  splendid  structures  of  Baalbek,  whose  ruins 
are  now  marvelous  in  the  eyes  of  all  visitors.  How  the 
walls  were  built  and  how  the  great  temples  were 
brought  to  their  completion,  the  best  archaeologists  and 
engineers  have  not  been  able  to  say.  Is  it  any  wonder 
that  engineers  are  puzzled  when  in  the  outside  wall  are 
stones,  laid  so  closely  that  a  needle  cannot  be  inserted, 
which  are  64  feet,  6^  feet  8  inches,  and  6;^  feet  in  length 
and  thirteen  feet  in  the  other  two  dimensions?  Each 
measures  more  than  12,000  cubic  feet  and  weighs  rfore 
than  1,000  tons.  Stones  measuring  30  and  35  feet  in 
length  and  12  to  13  feet  square  are  common,  while 
those  20,  22,  and  24  feet  by  13  feet  are  almost  the  rule. 
How  were  these  immense  blocks  taken  from  the  quar- 
ry and  lifted  to  their  places  in  the  walls?  Did  the  an- 
cients make  an  incline  of  earth  and  roll  these  stones  to 
the  places  and  then  adjust  them?  Marvelous  is  the 
work,  however  it  may  have  been  done.  The  quarries 
from  which  the  stones  were  taken  are  not  more  than  a 
mile  from  the  town;  and  they  show  that  they  were 
worked  for  other  buildings  than  the  temples,  and  per- 
haps from  them  stones  were  sent  to  Palmyra  and  Da- 
mascus. At  the  quarry  is  a  stone  70  feet  by  15  feet  by 
14  feet  which  is  estimated  to  weigh  1,500  tons,  and 
which  was  evidently  too  large  to  be  moved. 

The  two  temples,  the  Great  Temple  and  the  Temple 
of  Bacchus,  which  stand  upon  the  massive  substruc- 
tions, were  erected  in  the  second  century  of  the  Chris- 
tian era  under  the  reign  of  Antonius  Pius.    They  ar^ 
23  337 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

wonderful  structures,  and  are  gigantic  examples  of 
ancient  architecture.  Massive  columns  with  Corinthian 
capitals,  rich  alcoves  adorned  by  the  most  delicately 
carved  fretwork,  magnificent  friezes  and  pleasing  cor- 
nices, great  walls  and  extensive  ornamentations  all 
make  a  show  of  superb  architecture  such  as  one  sees 
nowhere  else  except  in  the  ruins  at  Luxor  and  Thebes 
and  on  the  Acropolis  of  Athens,  The  Temple  oi  Bac- 
chus is  said  to  be  one  of  the  best  preserved  and  most 
beautiful  antique  buildings  in  Syria.  While  it  is  not  so 
massive  as  the  Great  Temple,  yet  in  ornamentation, 
great  columns,  and  stately  corridors  it  is  unsurpassed. 
The  ravages  of  the  Turkish  soldiers  and  the  Arabs, 
who  have  been  allowed  a  free  hand  for  centuries  in 
their  work  of  destruction,  and  the  great  earthquake 
which  fractured  the  ponderous  columns  and  walls  in 
1759,  have  brought  the  magnificent  work  of  the  ancient 
architects  to  greater  ruin  than  would  have  come  in  the 
natural  wear  of  the  centuries.  But  Baalbek  has  an 
interest  in  its  ancient  pile  which  few  places  of  this 
world  can  rival. 

When  I  went  to  the  railway  station  to  take  the  train 
for  Beirut,  I  found  that  the  Governor  General  of  the 
province,  who  has  his  capital  in  Damascus,  had  been  in 
the  city,  and  that  his  car  would  be  attached  to  my  train. 
He  came  to  the  station  before  his  car  was  ready,  as  it 
was  to  be  connected  with  the  train  that  came  down 
from  Aleppo.  He  was  not  dififerent  in  appearance  from 
what  one  would  expect  in  a  Turkish  official.  He  was 
a  man  of  medium  size,  with  dark  hair  and  beard,  with 
the  features  of  one  of  forty-five  to  fifty,  and  with  an 
expression  of  a  serious,  capable  official.     When  he 

338 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

passed,  his  subjects  did  not  remove  their  red  fezzes 
(they  never  raise  them  for  anything  at  any  place — at 
the  table,  in  the  drawing-room,  in  the  presence  of  ladies 
or  potentates)  ;  but  they  bowed  very  low  with  the  full 
swing  of  the  arm,  which  is  extended  with  the  palm  of 
the  hand  upward.  The  salutation  in  the  swing  and 
sweep  of  the  entire  body  is  indeed  quite  impressive,  and 
is  more  pleasing  than  the  stiff  bow  which  Is  the  custom 
in  polite  circles  of  Europe  and  some  Asiatic  countries. 
The  Governor  had  a  large  retinue  of  attendants  in  uni- 
forms and  adorned  with  glistening  swords.  The  only 
high  official  in  the  world  who  is  willing  to  be  a  civilian 
and  dress  as  such  and  have  no  military  accompaniment 
is  the  American.  In  speaking  of  salutations,  I  am 
minded  to  say  that  salutations  in  Palestine  are  very 
tedious  and  cannot  be  quickly  performed.  The  greet- 
ings are  hearty  and  are  continued.  Each  person  usually 
kisses  his  hand  as  he  brings  it  back  from  the  swing. 
The  parties  often  embrace.  "Peace  be  with  you"  is 
repeated  a  number  of  times.  Jesus  said  to  his  disciples 
when  he  sent  them :  "Salute  no  man  by  the  way."  They 
would  not  have  gone  far  if  they  had  met  many  people 
and  saluted  each  one  according  to  the  Oriental  custom. 
The  journey  from  Baalbek  to  Beirut  required  about 
six  hours.  As  Baalbek  is  about  3,900  feet  above  the 
Mediterranean  and  Beirut  is  on  the  shore,  the  train, 
after  crossing  the  Lebanon  Mountains,  had  to  make  a 
considerable  descent.  The  mountains  still  held  snow 
in  their  ravines,  the  gulches  were  sublime  in  their  rug- 
gedness,  and  the  fields  that  filled  the  narrow  valleys 
were  beautiful  in  their  products.  The  rapidity  of  the 
descent  at  times  gave  one  an  inclination  to  nervous- 

339 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

ness;  but  the  narrow  plain  was  reached,  and  soon  we 
were  in  Beirut,  a  city  of  120,000  people,  the  northern 
port  of  Syria,  and  the  chief  commercial  place  of  the 
country.  It  is  beautifully  situated  on  St.  George's  Bay, 
has  a  mild  climate  because  of  its  sea  breeze,  and  is  sur- 
rounded by  luxuriant  gardens.  Here  the  Moslems 
number  only  36,000,  and  so  the  Christian  element  pre- 
dominates. There  are  2,100  Protestants  here;  but  the 
Orthodox  Greeks  will  reach  45,000  and  the  Maronites 
28,000.  Over  one  thousand  steamers  enter  the  harbor 
annually,  while  the  sailing  vessels  will  number  2,500. 
The  city  has  more  interest  to  me  because  of  the  Syrian 
Protestant  College,  which  is  located  here,  than  for  any 
other  reason.  I  counted  it  a  high  privilege  to  meet  not 
only  the  President,  Dr.  Howard  S.  Bliss,  but  his  hon- 
ored father,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Daniel  Bliss,  who  is  really  the 
founder  of  the  institution.  Though  he  has  passed  his 
fourscore  years,  yet  he  has  lost  no  interest  in  this  great 
institution.  The  -school  has  more  than  800  pupils  and  a 
faculty  of  seventy-five  members.  The  -medical  school 
does  first-class  work,  and  its  clinics  in  the  hospital 
would  do  credit  to  the  medical  schools  of  America.  In 
the  student  body  may  be  found  100  Egyptians,  100 
Greeks,  seventy  Armenians,  and  the  rest  are  Syrians. 
In  religion  300  of  the  students  are  Orthodox  Greeks, 
100  are  Mohammedans,  100  Roman  Catholics,  and  150 
are  Protestants.  The  converts  to  Protestantism  are 
never  made  from  the  Moslems,  but  usually  from  the 
Orthodox  Greeks.  No  institution  in  the  East  is  doing 
more  for  the  country  in  which  it  is  located  than  the 
Syrian  Protestant  College  is  doing  for  the  Syrians.  It 
is  sending  out  physicians  and  teachers  that  will  bring 

340 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

in  a  new  era  in  their  country.  One  evening  I  attended 
a  presentation  of  Shakespeare's  "As  You  Like  It"  on 
the  campus  by  the  students  of  the  college,  and  was  de- 
lighted with  the  performance.  Their  pronunciation  of 
the  English  language  and  their  interpretation  of  the 
great  dramatist  were  admirable.  The  mission  work  in 
Beirut  and  Northern  Syria  is  done  largely  by  the 
Presbyterian  and  the  United  Presbyterian  Churches. 
While  the  results  have  not  been  large,  yet  the  mission- 
aries feel  encouraged  and  are  hopeful  of  greater  things. 
But  the  time  of  my  departure  from  Syria  was  at  hand ; 
and  after  two  nights  and  a  day  in  Beirut  I  left  for 
Alexandria,  taking  a  steamer  that  would  touch  at  Haifa, 
Joppa,  and  Port  Said.  It  was  not  clean  nor  comforta- 
ble, but  it  was  going  in  the  right  direction.  In  the  aft- 
ernoon we  passed  Tyre,  and  an  hour  before  sunset  we 
came  to  anchor  at  Haifa,  at  the  foot  of  Mount  Carmel. 
The  next  morning  we  awoke  to  find  ourselves  at  Joppa, 
where  we  spent  the  day,  and  where  the  traveling  com- 
panion of  the  world  journey,  coming  down  from  Jeru- 
salem, met  me.  The  next  morning  we  were  in  Port 
Said,  where  we  spent  some  six  hours ;  and  in  the  aft- 
ernoon we  set  sail  for  Alexandria,  where  we  landed 
safely  the  next  morning  at  eight  o'clock  and  spent 
the  day. 

Alexandria,  once  famous  for  its  schools  of  philoso- 
phy and  theology,  is  now  known  as  the  great  commer- 
cial metropolis  of  the  kingdom  of  the  Khedive.  Could 
Alexander  the  Great  look  upon  this  splendid  city,  which 
boasts  of  him  as  its  founder,  he  would  be  surprised  to 
find  that  practically  nothing  that  he  designed  for  his 
magnificent  capital  is  now  in  existence.    Neither  Mace- 

341 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

donia  nor  Greece  could  lay  claims  to  what  one  may  at 
this  day  see  in  Alexandria;  for  great  merchants  have 
taken  the  places  of  great  scholars,  magnificent  business 
houses  have  supplanted  costly  libraries,  and  modern 
commercialism  has  hushed  the  voice  of  world-renowned 
scholarship.  But  Alexandria,  with  its  400,000  inhab- 
itants, is  a  great  city  according  to  present-day  stand- 
ards. It  has  many  fine  broad,  well-paved  streets,  and 
its  buildings  will  compare  favorably  with  those  of  most 
European  cities.  Into  its  splendid  harbor  enter  great 
ships  with  their  cargo  from  the  ports  of  the  world,  and 
out  of  it  go  the  vast  rich  exports  of  Egypt.  While  this 
Egyptian  metropolis  is  a  modern  city,  it  yet  lays  claim 
to  some  ancient  ruins.  Pompey's  Pillar,  a  large  round 
monolith  of  red  granite  nearly  one  hundred  feet  high, 
still  stands  on  a  commanding  site.  Recent  excavations 
have  revealed  ruins  of  a  great  temple  and  some  superb 
statues  of  Egyptian  rulers  and  sacred  animals.  Cleo- 
patra kept  her  magnificent  Needles  here,  but  the  gen- 
erosity of  the  old  Mehemet  made  New  York's  Central 
Park  and  the  banks  of  the  Thames  the  present  resting 
places  of  these  famous  obelisks.  The  faithful  Copts  can 
show  the  traveler  what  they  claim  was  the  resting  place 
of  St.  Mark's  bones  for  eight  hundred  years  and  point 
out  some  locality  in  which  Athanasius,  the  defender  of 
the  faith,  lived,  or  where  Apollos,  Paul's  eloquent  con- 
temporary, was  born ;  but  they  have  no  credible  infor- 
mation. The  ancient  remains  of  Alexandria  are  too 
meager  to  excite  much  interest,  and  so  the  tourist  must 
satisfy  himself  with  what  he  sees  of  the  modern  city 
and  the  present-day  people. 

The  interest  and  delight  with  which  one  visits  the 
342 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

ruins  and  remains  of  ancient  Egypt  are  intense.  The 
dead  and  mummied  Egyptian  gives  pleasure  and  in- 
struction, but  his  live  and  present-day  descendant  whom 
we  met  combines  in  a  most  irritating  manner  the  ma- 
jority of  the  faults  of  his  Oriental  ancestors  and  his 
Occidental  associates.  The  wealthy  tramps  of  Euro- 
pean and  American  society  who  spend  their  winters  in 
Cairo  and  other  parts  of  Egypt  have  spoiled  by  their 
large  fees  the  serving  public  in  the  most  interesting 
places  in  the  land  of  the  Nile.  Egypt  is  the  most  ex- 
pensive country  which  tourists  now  visit ;  and  the  serv- 
ice which  the  swarthy-faced,  long-robed,  red-fezzed  na- 
tives render  is  as  limited  as  they  can  make  it.  But 
where  is  there  an  Oriental  that  a  traveler  can  trust? 
Honesty  and  truthfulness  are  not  constant  in  the  moral 
code  of  the  East.  Bargaining  and  the  multiplying  of 
words  are  common  everywhere  in  the  Orient,  and  a 
bargain  holds  nowhere  (except  in  China,  where  the 
"face"  is  involved)  if  the  Oriental  by  disregarding  it 
finds  a  way  to  make  capital.  The  recital  of  the  expe- 
riences of  those  who  were  caught  for  a  fee  of  twenty 
francs  when  three  had  been  agreed  upon  to  deliver  the 
party  from  the  steamer  to  the  wharf  made  me  cautious 
in  transshipping  in  Alexandria.  The  boatman  agreed 
to  deliver  us  and  our  baggage  upon  our  outgoing 
steamer  for  a  certain  sum.  When,  in  declaring  that  a 
competitor  who  had  asked  five  times  that  amount  had 
no  license,  he  produced  his  own  license,  I  took  it  and 
placed  it  in  my  pocket,  telling  him  that  I  would  return 
it  when  the  contract  was  fulfilled.  We  had  no  trouble, 
as  the  return  of  the  license  was  an  essential  matter  to 
him.    It  is  by  no  means  unusual  for  a  boatman  to  hold 

343 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

Ml   *  ■  »        I   ■    11 ■   ■  II.    ■     ■      I      ■■.■i«    .1 

his  passengers  upon  the  rocking  surf  until  his  demands, 
however  exorbitant,  are  met  in  cash.  However,  in 
some  American  and  European  cities  we  not  infrequent- 
ly find  such  highwaymen  on  our  carriages.  In  every 
country  but  our  own  the  city  authorities  universally 
establish  a  tariff  for  carriages;  and  the  customers  can 
demand  this  schedule  before  entering  a  carriage  or  on 
leaving  it,  and  pay  the  driver  according  to  the  legal 
rate.  Without  a  legal  tariff  the  use  of  carriages  in  the 
Orient  would  be  impossible,  as  the  bargaining  neces- 
sary to  secure  one  would  consume  too  much  time,  and 
the  demands  on  leaving  it  would  necessitate  the  inter- 
position of  the  police.  Even  as  it  is,  frequently  tour- 
ists are  forced  by  illegal  charges  of  the  carriage  driv- 
ers to  seek  the  protection  of  the  police,  and  especially 
is  this  true  in  Cairo.  But  such  treatment  may  usually 
be  expected  in  those  countries  where  the  rich  and  the 
pretentious  have  congregated  for  their  pleasures,  as 
their  reckless  expenditures  have  brought  the  natives  to 
look  for  large  fees  from  visitors. 

When  the  fine  German  steamer  lifted  anchor  at  noon 
on  that  June  day  and  took  its  course  to  the  northwest 
across  the  Mediterranean  Sea  for  Italy,  we  breathed  a 
sigh  of  relief,  for  the  burden  of  the  Orient  was  left 
behind.  Whether  in  the  far  East  or  the  near  East,  no 
man  can  travel  in  the  Orient  without  a  depression  of 
spirit  and  the  continual  sense  of  a  human  burden  upon 
the  heart  and  mind.  Between  Europe  and  America 
there  is  a  great  sea  in  a  sense  other  than  that  of  water, 
but  between  them  and  the  rest  of  the  world  there  is 
a  great  gulf.  Steam,  electricity,  and  a  common  intelli- 
gence may  abolish  the  sea,  but  the  gulf  is  fixed  by  crea- 

344 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

tion ;  and  though  it  may  be  bridged,  it  can  never  be  re- 
moved. "As  far  as  the  East  is  from  the  West"  is  a 
distance  unmeasurable  if  these  terms  designate  the  peo- 
ples who  are  native  to  these  realms.  Kipling,  after  a 
long  residence  in  the  Eastern  lands,  wrote : 

O,  the  East  is  East,  and  the  West  is  West, 

And  never  the  twain  shall  meet, 
Till  earth    and  sky  stand  presently 

Before  God's  great  judgment  seat. 

The  Asiatic  is  the  product  of  his  own  countless  cen- 
turies, and  into  the  fabric  of  his  nature  have  been 
woven  tissues  which  are  unknown  and  unknowable  to 
the  European  or  his  American  descendant.  The  very 
constitution  of  his  mind  is  so  different  from  that  of  his 
European  brother  that  even  the  exchange  of  their  dis- 
tinctive ideas  is  hindered  by  the  lack  of  a  common  me- 
dium. The  European  often  pities  him  in  his  lot  and 
marvels  that  he  is  not  concerned  about  changing  his 
conditions.  But  the  truth  is,  his  conditions  were  not 
imposed  upon  him,  but  rather  they  issued  from  him, 
and  in  them  he  lives  and  moves  and  has  his  being.  As 
yet  the  West  has  been  unable  to  make  him  see  any  bet- 
ter way,  and  he  marvels  that  any  Western  people  would 
essay  to  be  his  teacher.  The  Westerner  has  too  often 
ignored  the  content  of  the  consciousness  of  the  Orien- 
tal, and  a-s  a  result  his  labor  at  a  transformation  in  his 
brother  has  failed.    Kipling  said  also : 

But  there  is  neither  East  nor  West, 

Nor  border,  nor  breed,  nor  birth, 
When  two  strong  men  stand  face  to  face, 

Though  they  come  from  the  end  of  the  earth. 
345 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

When  the  strong  man  of  the  West  recognizes  the 
strong  man  of  the  East  and  each  concedes  to  each  the 
rights  and  worth  which  he  represents,  then  the  possi- 
bihty  of  intercommunication  will  be  more  certain  and 
the  two  hemispheres  may  be  united. 

The  four  days  necessary  to  bring  us  from  Alexandria 
to  Naples  soon  passed  pleasantly  away,  for  we  had  a 
quiet  sea  and  a  very  agreeable  company.  True,  we  had 
some  princes  and  princesses  of  the  Egyptian  realm,  but 
their  royal  conceit  relieved  us  of  their  presence.  A  sheik 
from  the  land  of  Goshen,  who  had  conceived  the  idea 
of  distributing  some  of  his  ready  coin  in  London  and 
Paris  while  he  paraded  his  pretentious  importance,  was 
much  in  evidence  and  gave  a  splendid  exhibition  of 
the  Egyptian  Arab  at  his  self-conscious  best.  In  the 
night  of  the  third  day  we  passed  through  the  Straits  of 
Messina,  between  Italy  and  Sicily,  and  early  in  the  next 
morning  we  steamed  by  the  volcanic  island  of  Strom- 
boli.  Just  as  we  rose  from  lunch  on  the  last  day  we 
passed  the  island  of  Capri  and  entered  the  Bay  of  Na- 
ples, correctly  styled  the  most  beautiful  bay  in  the 
world.  On  our  right  lay  Sorrento  and  Castellamare 
and  their  charming  surroundings;  while  in  front  of  us, 
behind  the  city,  stood  out  against  the  deep  blue  sky  the 
solemn  gray  peak  of  Mount  Vesuvius,  at  whose  feet 
crouched  its  victims  of  Pompeii  and  Plerculaneum.  On 
the  left  I-schia  and  her  small  sister  islands  stand  in  a 
line  like  maids  in  waiting.  "What  is  so  rare  as  a  day 
in  June  ?"  What  would  the  poet  have  written  had  that 
day  afforded  a  slow  sail  into  the  beautiful,  beautiful 
Bay  of  Naples  when  the  sun  was  in  his  glory,  the  sky 
in  its  own  Italian  blue,  and  the  hills  and  the  valleys,  the 

346 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

orchards  and  the  gardens  were  riotous  in  their  wealth 
of  fruit  and  flower  ?  We  were  in  a  strait  betwixt  two : 
whether  to  abide  upon  the  ship  in  a  harbor  so  gorgeous 
in  its  setting  or  to  go  out  into  the  city  that  offered  a 
home  feeHng  even  in  its  strangeness  to  those  who  had 
wandered  in  lands  so  distant  from  their  own  in  thought 
and  life.  The  luxury  of  landing  at  such  a  time  was 
eagerly  seized  at  the  first  lowering  of  the  gang  plank, 
and  in  a  trice  we  were  driving  away  to  our  hotel.  Aft- 
er several  months  spent  among  the  kimono-dressed 
Japanese,  the  gayly  gowned  Chinese,  the  sky-clad  Ma- 
lays, Burmese,  and  Hindus,  and  the  long-robed  Egyp- 
tian and  Syrian,  we  were  in  good  condition  of  mind 
to  appreciate  real  clothes,  fashioned  after  our  own.  The 
Asiatic  occasionally  endeavors  to  show  his  sympathy 
for  Western  civilization  by  donning  the  apparel  of  the 
European  or  American,  but  somehow  when  he  endeav- 
ors thus  to  exhibit  his  regard  for  Western  ways  his 
dress  is  out  of  keeping  with  his  life  and  thought.  In 
Japan  among  those  in  full  native  or  foreign  garb  we 
saw  men  who  had  discarded  the  native  kimono  for  a 
knit  suit,  white  hose,  low  shoes,  and  an  overcoat.  It 
wa-s  not  unusual  to  see  persons  wearing  a  mixed  suit 
of  Japanese  and  foreign  clothes.  Mixing  the  Oriental 
and  the  Western  is  a  habit  in  that  land.  In  China  there 
is  little  mixing  of  clothes,  as  the  native  garb  does  not 
admit  of  such  procedure.  In  fact,  foreign  dress  does 
not  appeal  very  strongly  to  a  Chinaman.  In  India  the 
mixture  was  very  common,  and  one  often  saw  men  clad 
in  their  tunic,  which  left  their  limbs  for  the  most  part 
bare,  with  a  neat  sack  coat  worn  over  the  tunic,  low 
russet  shoes  or  patent  leather  "pumps"  on  the  feet,  and 

347 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

the  head  uncovered.  Nakedness  and  clothes  were 
rather  informally  distributed  over  the  bodies  of  these 
sons  and  daughters  of  the  tropics.  To  be  ushered  from 
such  a  motley  throng  into  a  land  of  full  suits,  elegant 
footwear,  and  becoming  headgear  was  indeed  an  ex- 
perience which  excited  rare  pleasure.  Again  and  again 
we  were  compelled  to  exclaim :  "What  handsome  men 
and  beautiful  women  this  Italian  metropolis  can  pro- 
duce !"  One  member  of  the  party  had  never  seen  any 
Italians  except  the  immigrants  in  America,  and  was  not 
prepared  to  find  in  Naple-s  auburn-haired  blondes  as 
well  as  brown-eyed  brunettes.  Soft,  clear  complexions, 
noble  physiques,  and  queenly  forms  were  not  expected 
in  this  city  of  Southern  Italy.  But  the  consciousness 
that  we  had  really  passed  from  the  East  to  the  West 
in  crossing  the  Middle  Sea  between  Alexandria  and 
Naples  was  the  most  distinctive  and  highly  prized  gain 
in  coming  into  the  fair  city  which  was  once  the  gay 
capital  of  the  stout  little  kingdom  of  Naples. 

Here  I  take  my  farewell  of  my  readers.  The  jour- 
ney through  the  Orient  was  exceedingly  interesting  and 
highly  profitable.  Many  of  the  experiences  were  se- 
vere, and  no  one  could  wish  for  a  repetition  of  them. 
For  instance,  travel  through  India  in  April  is  hazard- 
ous ;  for  the  heat  is  intense,  registering  io8  to  i  lo  de- 
grees Fahrenheit  in  the  shade,  and  dealing  death  to  an 
American  in  the  sunshine  unless  the  head  is  protected 
by  a  thick  pith  helmet.  The  water  is  never  safe  unless 
boiled  by  a  trustworthy  person.  Stimulants  are  dan- 
gerous. Travel  in  India  should  be  undertaken  only 
in  the'  four  months  beginning  with  November.  Japan 
offers  at  all  times  unusual  attractions  for  the  traveler, 

348 


ETCHINGS     OF     THE     EAST 

while  China  will  interest  any  student  of  a  great  and 
stalwart  people.  Egypt  furnishes  the  real  antiquities 
for  the  sight-seer,  but  the  land  is  full  of  pests  like  unto 
those  that  came  as  plagues  in  Pharaoh's  time  and  oth- 
ers that  possessed  the  land  since  that  day.  Palestine 
is  indeed  the  Holy  Land,  and  for  a  clergyman  or  a 
Bible  student  it  offers  unparalleled  scenes  and  unsur- 
passed interest.  Every  minister  who  can  visit  this  land 
of  our  Lord  should  by  all  means  make  the  trip.  A 
journey  among  the  Orientals,  even  if  hurriedly  made, 
will  give  one  the  pulse  beat  of  the  nations  of  the  Far 
East  just  at  this  time  when  the  national  consciousness 
of  every  country  is  fast  awaking,  and  this  will  be  in- 
valuable in  the  study  of  the  present  movements  of  the 
Asiatic  peoples. 

849 


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